Rise of the Thief King
by Lordius Dannius
Summary: Bakura, a child who survived the massacre of Kul Elna, was destined to become the man who almost brought down an entire kingdom on his own, but what happened before his battle with the Pharaoh? How did Bakura survive in a world which never treated him kindly? Set in Ancient Egypt, thousands of years ago.
1. I

_**Yu-Gi-Oh! Rise of the Thief King**_

 **~I~**

 _Kul Elna, Ancient Egypt_

Nara was a tall and well-built man with dark skin, scars covering his body to show that he had run into trouble a few times. His eyes were dark and he had some strands of growing facial hair to show that he was aging. Perhaps his most extraordinary feature was his hair, which was a light shade of silver which glowed in the moonlight. Donned in rags and belts, he was returning to his small house situated close to the heart of his isolated village.

Pushing his way through the beaded curtain, Nara found his wife, Kanchani, sitting upon a small wooden stool with their young son in her arms. Kanchani had long raven hair which flowed smoothly down her back, and her eyes were a dark shade of purple. Like her husband she also had dark skin, though she was not covered in permanent wounds. Once she was a wild woman who wore a cloak, raiding sacred tombs alongside her lover, but ever since having a child she gave up her life as a grave robber.

Kanchani smiled at Nara warmly, already informing him that he was welcome home. "I take that tonight the guards didn't trouble you?" she asked him.

"Heh," Nara chuckled smugly. "I didn't see a single one. It's like they've given up trying to keep us thieves out!"

"Hm," Kanchani responded thoughtfully, her smile fading. "The guards are no fools, Nara, there must be a reason for them being absent..."

"Tch," Nara shrugged, picking up a piece of fruit from the small counter and taking a large bite out of it. "It's probably because of the war. Egypt's losing, I hear."

"That's not good," Kanchani admitted, sounding concerned. "The foreign armies will invade."

"Not our problem," Nara countered, throwing the rest of the fruit into his mouth and talking with his mouth full. "Even if there's an invasion, Kul Elna won't be a priority. Nobody knows of this village, and the Capital will be the main target for the invaders." The man swallowed hard before continuing to speak. "Besides, we've got some tough guys living here. We won't go down without a fight."

Kanchani had a worried look on her face, her eyes rolling down to look at her sleeping son. It was him she was worried for the most; she wanted her child to live a long life like she and Nara had. Her protective motherly instincts made her only want the best for her son - something she never knew she would wish for before becoming a mother.

Nara walked behind Kanchani, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on top of hers playfully with a smug little smile on his face. "Ah, you worry too much, precious," he said nonchalantly. "Everything's gonna be fine."

"How can you be so sure?" Kanchani questioned, leaning into his hold.

"Because you've only started thinking like this since our son was born," Nara pointed out, then lifting his head from Kanchani's so that he could look at the young boy. "How is he, by the way?"

Kanchani smiled a little when Nara diverted her attention to a more positive topic. "He's been fine," she answered. "He does want to see you more, though; he doesn't like it when you leave."

"Heh," Nara chuckled again, walking in front of the two and crouching down so that he could see his child, although he did glance up at Kanchani with a teasing smile. "How about I have him for the next few days so you can go raiding?" Kanchani rolled her eyes, sighing heavily.

"You know I'm past those days," she reminded him.

"Why?" Nara pestered, standing back to his full height.

"Because I have a child, Nara," Kanchani replied.

"So do I," Nara countered, folding his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, well, you're different," Kanchani huffed. Nara could only laugh.

"I know you loved the glory days!" he responded, wrapping his arm around the woman upon the stool. "You and I, traversing through trap-filled tombs with only our wits, leaving with as much gold as we could carry... Don't say you didn't love that, Kanchi!"

"I did," Kanchani admitted, smiling at the memories. Her smile vanished as she remembered that her son was in her arms. "But I want to focus on raising Bakura now."

"Ooh!" Nara suddenly exclaimed as if thinking of a great idea. "When he gets a little older, we should teach him a few of our tricks! He could be a magnificent thief!"

"With you as his father, what else could he become?" Kanchani chuckled softly. "I doubt you'd let him try to become a merchant."

"Feh!" Nara scoffed, folding his arms and shaking his head. "No son of mine will spend his days standing by a stall selling goods! He will live a life of adventure!" The man grinned, pinching Kanchani's cheek. "Just like his mama and papa."

Bakura began to stir in Kanchani's arms, letting out a tired whimper as he rubbed his eyes and allowed them to slowly crack open. He blinked a few times, tilting his head curiously before beaming excitably, bouncing up and down in his mother's lap. "Papa!" he exclaimed happily, reaching up for his father.

"Hey!" Nara smiled, lifting him out of Kanchani's arms. "How's my brave little thief?"

"Wow, you really are trying to brainwash him, aren't you?" Kanchani commented quietly yet playfully.

Bakura cuddled up to his father with a grin on his face. "I missed you!" he giggled.

"Ah, you weren't worried about me, were ya, kiddo?" Nara asked, ruffling Bakura's white hair. Bakura shook his head.

"Nuh-uh!" he answered, folding his arms.

"That's my boy," Nara grinned. "You know not to worry about your papa."

"You're strong!" Bakura chirped. "Did you beat up anyone today, papa?"

"Not today," Nara answered, "but look what I got." Nara placed Bakura on the ground, taking out a stone ushabti and placing it into his hands. "For your collection."

"Wow," Bakura gasped. "Thank you, papa!"

Nara chuckled. "Now, run along and put it with the others."

Bakura happily sprinted out of the room to place the ushabti with others his father had collected, and once he was gone Nara smiled and pulled Kanchani up to her feet.

"He really likes those things," Nara smiled, wrapping his arms around Kanchani. The woman rested her head against his chest, returning his embrace.

"You've told him to keep those safe here, right?" she asked her husband.

"Why?" Nara queried. "They're not worth much. They're just trophies."

"They prove you robbed tombs," Kanchani pointed out.

"So?" Nara shrugged. "Nobody here will rat on us. We're all the same in this village."

"But if any outsiders come..."

"Kanchi," Nara interrupted, putting his finger to her lips. "You worry too much." With Kanchani now silent, Nara smiled and held her wrist. "Outsiders aren't welcome in Kul Elna. We've all fought them off before." The thief then clipped a golden bracelet around Kanchani's wrist, then allowing her to admire the object. "Besides, you enjoy showing off the funerary relics I bring back for you; this bracelet belonged to Queen Neferuraeus."

"Well..." Kanchani started slowly, "I suppose I do love the treasures you bring back for me. They remind me of my younger years."

"I don't think I'll find anything better than my priceless piece of treasure," Nara admitted, smirking down at his wife. Kanchani got the hint but smiled up at him and questioned him, anyway.

"And what treasure is that?" she asked. Nara nuzzled her nose.

"You," he answered, then swiftly sweeping her off her feet and holding her bridal style in his arms. "Now come on, dear, let's go and see what Bakura's up to." With that, Nara carried Kanchani through the door previously used by their excited young son.

 _..._

 _The Royal Palace, Ancient Egypt_

While Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen and his court were greatly worried about the kingdom's future and the threat of violent conflict, the children were not even aware of the problem. Instead they were just having fun in the garden, under the watchful eye of the Pharaoh's wife, Ankhesenamon. She was watching the children as they played with her infant son: the heir to Egypt's throne if the kingdom was saved.

"He keeps trying to grab my finger," giggled Mahad, the young son of Priest Kamuzu.

"Be careful with him, children," Ankhesenamon said in response, not being able to hide a soft chuckle. Seeing how curious Atem was for his age made it quite clear that he was born to follow in his father's footsteps.

"Say Seto," commanded Seto, the young son of Priest Akhenaden. "Come on, cousin, say Seto!"

"He can't talk yet," Mahad reminded him, letting Atem finally grab his finger.

"Why not?" Seto asked, almost pouting with annoyance.

"Because he's a baby," Mahad chuckled.

"Why can't babies talk?" Seto pressed. Mahad didn't know how to answer that question. He enjoyed being the one who knew the most, especially since he was the oldest, but there were some questions he did not know the answer to.

"Babies can't talk because they need to learn," came the voice of Nefertari, daughter of Priest Masudah. She had long hair which was a unique shade of light blue, which many said was from her deceased mother, and she had bright purple eyes.

"Did we learn?" questioned Seto, his head tilted. "I don't remember learning."

"You were too young," Mahad replied, wanting to answer before Nefertari could. He could see that she wasn't really paying much attention to the conversation, instead deciding to make a chain of flowers.

Nephthys, the mother of Seto, entered the garden with a look of concern on her face, which Ankhesenamon noticed.

"What troubles you, Nephthys?" she asked her.

"It's Akhenaden," Nephthys responded quietly. "He told me that he has a dark future ahead, and he wishes for Seto and I to bid him farewell as he leaves to create the Millennium Items."

"A dark future?" queried Ankhesenamon. "What did he mean by that? He swore to my husband that those items will save Egypt."

"I'm not sure what he meant," Nephthys sighed sadly. "I'm not even sure if he was referring to the items. Perhaps he will explain when Seto and I go to see him."

"I do hope everything is okay," Ankhesenamon hoped with sad eyes. "Akhenaden is a good man; I'd hate to think he believed his future was dark."

"I worry greatly for my husband," Nephthys admitted, "but I must not keep him waiting. I'm sure we will speak again soon, my queen."

"As am I," Ankhesenamon nodded. "Tell Akhenaden I wish him good luck."

"I will," Nephthys responded before approaching her son and taking him by the hand. "Come, Seto, your father wants to see us."

"Okay, mama," Seto replied, gripping Nephthys' hand. He walked with her, turning back to wave one last time at Mahad and Nefertari. He didn't expect to see three hands waving back at him; Atem had waved for the first time.

"He waved," Mahad gasped after Nephthys and Seto had left. "He waved, my queen!"

"I saw," Ankhesenamon smiled. She would have been more excited, but she was still worried about Egypt and now she was also worried about her husband's brother, Akhenaden. Too many things were on her mind right now; she could only look at Atem and hope that there was a kingdom left for him to rule when he came of age. She didn't even want to think of him dying before he was able to sit upon the throne, but Egypt was fighting a losing war. Akhenaden was the kingdom's only hope.

 _..._

 _Kul Elna, Ancient Egypt_

A few days had passed, and once again the sun was setting. Kul Elna always did darken faster than most villages due to it being located in a valley.

For these past few days, Nara did not leave his family. He wanted to see more of his wife and son, though he did not intend to give up his thieving life just yet. He knew that deep down Kanchani felt the same; perhaps one day the pair would raid tombs as partners once again.

Bakura was currently sleeping while his parents were preparing to go to bed. Nara had taken off his rags, remaining only in a beige kilt to sleep in, but Kanchani was staring out of the window thoughtfully. The man smiled and walked up behind her, resting his head on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come on, my treasure, let's get to bed," he said to her.

"Now?" Kanchani responded. "The sun hasn't even set completely." The woman then smirked. "Are you getting too old to stay up late, Nara?"

"Me? Old?" Nara gasped, taking a step back as he stood with a wide mouth. "I will never be old, Kanchi!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Kanchani chuckled, turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck, playing with his silver hair thoughtfully. Nara huffed but couldn't bring himself to be mad at the woman, so instead he nuzzled her nose playfully.

"So... bed?" the thief asked with a cheeky smile. Kanchani rolled her eyes but giggled.

"Alright, since you keep asking," she answered. She turned to the bed, only to have Nara push her down onto it. He stood and laughed as she grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "You rascal!" she laughed.

"Thanks for the pillow," Nara retorted, flopping onto his back as he held the pillow close. "Now I have two." Kanchani then snuggled close to him, smiling.

"I have something you don't," she reminded him. Nara raised his eyebrow.

"Oh?" he asked her. Kanchani chuckled and poked his nose.

"You," she revealed. Nara threw the pillow aside and pulled his wife close.

"And I have you, Kanchi," he countered.

"Sleep well, my thief," Kanchani last said before closing her eyes. Nara gave her a loving peck on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams, treasure," he replied before his own eyes closed. Sleep was quick to consume them both.

But they did not sleep for the whole night.

Kanchani awoke upon hearing the sound of screaming, and Nara was quick to join her in her sudden state of worry.

"What's going on?" Nara asked his wife as she approached the window.

"Oh my goodness," Kanchani gasped. "Nara, there are men attacking the villagers! The foreigners have invaded!"

Nara stood by her side to look at the chaos. People were being slaughtered and herded like cattle - men, women and even children. "Those aren't foreigners," he corrected, marching to a rack which had a beige shenti upon it. He wrapped the robe around himself, grabbing one of his many daggers. "That's the Pharaoh's army."

"What?!" Kanchani exclaimed.

"Get Bakura," Nara commanded, managing to remain somewhat calm on the exterior.

"Nara, what's going on?!" Kanchani questioned. "Why are they killing everybody?! They're killing the children!"

"I don't know, just go and get Bakura!" Nara barked suddenly. Kanchani hurried out of their room and rushed into Bakura's, immediately taking him from his bed. The boy had been asleep, but he tiredly awoke from his slumber.

"Mama...?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "What's that noise...?"

"Come on, son," Kanchani tried to say calmly, carrying the child in her arms. "We have to go."

"Go?" Bakura yawned. Kanchani carried him out of his room, only to see that one of the guards was in her house with a demented grin on his face as he brandished his blood-covered spear. Kanchani let out a terrified scream as she stepped backwards, keeping her eyes on the guard, only to find that she had backed up against the wall. Her immediate instinct was to shield Bakura with her body, but as the guard stepped closer she suddenly watched as Nara jumped out and tackled the man to the ground, thrusting his dagger into his chest repeatedly. He had a savage expression on his face - one any father and husband would have if their loved ones were in danger.

"Go!" the thief hollered. "Get outta here, Kanchani!"

"W-What about you?!" Kanchani reacted, panicking. Nara pushed himself back up to his feet, blood now on his shenti and dagger.

"I'll hold them off so you can get away!" the thief answered. "Just get away from here and I'll catch up when I can!"

Kanchani stared at her husband with wide eyes, almost knowing that Nara wouldn't be able to catch up to her and Bakura, but she also knew that she couldn't convince him to flee with her without fighting. By doing that she would only put herself and her son in more danger, so she nodded her head and ran through her home's exit. Almost immediately one of the guards tried to attack her, but Nara was right behind her. He jumped forward and slashed the guard down his chest, looking back at his wife.

"Run!" he shouted. Kanchani stared at him one last time before sprinting as fast as she could, with Bakura looking over her shoulder. For a moment he was watching with childish wonder, amazed that he could finally watch his father fighting before his very eyes, but the sight was not what he imagined. There was so much blood.

Nara ran after Kanchani to make sure nobody went near her, pushing back and cutting down any guards who even looked at her. He fell further and further behind as more guards came their way, most likely because there were less targets for them to go after now that many villagers had fallen. One guard was able to grab Nara from behind, throwing him down to the ground. The thief used both of his feet to kick this guard in the stomach, pushing him back as he jumped up to his feet. But now there were other guards attempting to tackle him, and with him being outnumbered it was difficult to put up a fight.

Instead of fighting, Nara chose to push past the guards to catch up to Kanchani. This slaughter was never going to end until every last villager was dead. He just knew it. They were targeting everyone they saw. Nara couldn't bear the thought of his son being murdered heartlessly, and imagining Kanchani's screams of agony pushed him over the edge. He had to stay close to them so that they were safe.

Something cold suddenly sliced down his back, which Nara immediately realised was a sword. It had cut deep into his flesh, causing him to cry out in pain. However, he was not close to giving up. He continued to run after Kanchani, seeing his young son staring with wide eyes filled with horror. He couldn't let his family down.

But one guard kicked his bleeding back, shoving him to the ground so that he fell before the feet of another guard who simply laughed and grinned down at him. Nara scowled hatefully, his body shaking from the pain as he lifted his head.

"Why...?" he asked the guard angrily. "Why are you doing this...?!"

"Vile thief..." the guard spat viciously. "This is your punishment for grave robbing! Your flesh will become part of a treasure you curs would die to steal... too bad there won't be any of you left to steal the gold!"

Nara clenched his teeth together, grabbing the guard's ankles and dragging him to the ground. He raised his dagger to drive it into the man's heart, but before he could do that he suddenly felt a hard and cold sensation in his back and chest, with some thick damp liquid dripping down his body. He glanced downwards, only to see that the head of a spear, now coated with shining red blood, protruded from his flesh. The guard who had kicked him down had impaled him.

There was no way to survive this. He lifted his quivering hand to touch the tip of the spear, then slowly lifting his head to look ahead into the distance.

"Papa!" Bakura cried out, trying to reach for his father. Kanchani stopped and turned around when hearing her son's cry, only to feel sick at the sight she saw. Nara was on the ground, still processing what had just happened to him. He could only stare at his wife and son, knowing that he had failed them, only to flop onto his front lifelessly as soon as the spear was yanked out of him.

Kanchani let out a shriek of both grief and rage. She continued to run with Bakura in her arms, but she was not just going to leave. She managed to run somewhere quiet, opening a barrel of grain which was beside someone's hut. The raven-haired woman placed Bakura into the barrel, tears forming in her eyes.

"Wait here," she instructed him. "Wait until it's very quiet, okay? Come out when it's safe. It will be soon."

"Mama...?" Bakura asked before Kanchani put a finger to his lips, her tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"Hush," she cooed, her voice wavering as she tried to smile. "Mama loves you, Bakura. Papa loves you. We both love you very much."

Bakura grabbed her hand. "Don't go," he whimpered. "I'm scared."

"Shh," Kanchani whispered. "I know, son, I know... But you have to stay here. Do as you're told."

Reluctantly, Bakura nodded his head. He sniffled softly, wiping away his tears with his hands. Kanchani held his cheeks and planted a kiss on his forehead before ruffling his hair.

"Be very quiet, Bakura," the woman commanded. "Don't make a sound no matter what. There are bad men here who will try to hurt you. Just wait until everybody is gone."

Kanchani put the top of the barrel back in place before running back towards the slaughter. Controlled by her rage, she grabbed one guard by his spear and snatched it from his grasp, using it to fatally slash his front and then impale another guard who tried to stop her. She briefly clashed her spear against another spear wielded by one more guard, but she was quick to thrust the spear into his stomach. Then her eyes found him. The man who she watched kill Nara. She locked eyes with him as he finished cutting down another villager, then she ran straight for him. They clashed spears for a good while, but the guard managed to strike her shoulder. Kanchani grimaced but spent no time focusing on the pain. She wanted to bring this man down, which is exactly what she was going to do. She barged the guard to the ground, straddling his hips as she ruthlessly brought the spear into his chest, twisting it to make his death much more painful.

"This is for Nara!" she wailed, her flaming eyes locking with the guard's glazing ones. "You murderer!"

Another guard grabbed her by her arms, forcing her off the man she had just killed. She continued to scream and kick her legs, thrashing in his arms.

"Murderers!" she howled. "You will all pay for this! This slaughter will not end in our blood!"

"Shut this harridan up," growled the guard who was restraining her. He pulled her hair back to expose her neck to another guard who raised his sword.

Bakura had to cover his own mouth as he listened to the dying screams of the villagers. He heard men laughing as metal cut through flesh. Bodies fell into the sand. Children sobbed and cried for their parents. Parents sobbed and cried for their children. It was like the slaughter would never end.

Gradually everything came to a stop. Nobody was screaming. Nobody was crying. Nobody was laughing as they cut down the villagers of Kul Elna. Bakura waited for a few moments longer before carefully lifting the lid of the barrel, scanning the environment around him. Blood still stained the sand, but no bodies could be found. He could only see trails of blood. Had the wounded villagers crawled to safety?

Bakura managed to climb out of the barrel, trembling as he followed the red path. They led to some stairs in the heart of the village, these stairs being the entrance to a shrine not even the Kul Elna villagers were aware of. Bakura slowly walked down the steps, hearing the sound of voices. Could that be the villagers? Could his mother and father be down here?

As he grew closer to the sound, he decided to peep his head around the corner of the dimly-lit room.

What he saw would be burned into his mind forever.

Everyone was dead, and their bodies were being dropped into a pot of molten gold.

The gold was then poured into the shrine, creating some strange-looking objects. Bakura didn't understand what the men were talking about, so instead could only stare at the golden items.

His parents were in those items.

His friends were in those items.

Everyone from his village was in those items, and he was the only one who was still alive.

Would they turn him to gold if they found him? Bakura didn't want to find out. These men were evil. They were monsters. He had to get away. All he could do was run back to his house, diving into the bed his parents once shared. It was still a little warm from where they had been sleeping in it.

Bakura positioned the two pillows on either side of him, snuggling up against one of them and wrapping his arms around it. He began to sniffle and whimper, weeping into the pillow as he imagined cuddling his father.

"Papa..." he sniffed. "Mama..."

He spent the rest of the night crying into the pillow, never letting the image of the slaughter leave his mind.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	2. II

**~II~**

 _Kul Elna_

Bakura originally awoke early that morning, but he had refused to get up. He went back to the world of slumber, hoping that everything had just been a horrendous nightmare; he wanted to wake up and find that his parents were still alive.

After a few extra hours of rest, Bakura finally decided to get out of bed. He tried to silently convince himself that his father was out raiding and his mother was out collecting water or food, but deep down he knew the truth; he knew that the image in his mind was what happened last night. He knew that he watched his parents being dropped into that cauldron of liquid gold.

What was he going to do now? Where was he going to go? Kul Elna was far away from other villages, so it would be impossible for Bakura to seek refuge in a new location. He had to teach himself to survive, but for how long could he eat the little food which remained here? Was his life only going to be a battle for survival every day?

His small stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had to eat. Usually his mother would give him some bread since it was soft and easy to obtain, but there was nothing left in his own home. He had to search the other houses, even if it wasn't a polite thing to do.

Bakura managed to find a loaf of bread which had not yet been touched, possibly because it had only recently been brought into the home, so the young boy hesitantly tore himself a piece and nibbled on it. While eating his food, he decided to curiously make his way back to that underground shrine. He could hear no voices so the child assumed that the men from last night had left, but he was still terrified; he had no idea what to expect when entering the underground temple.

To his surprise, it was as if no ritual had taken place at all. The items were gone and the temple was dark, with no blood being seen anywhere. This only confused Bakura even more. Why was there nothing left behind? The incident he saw must have occurred; how else could everyone disappear with him being the only one left behind? His parents wouldn't have abandoned him.

Realising that he definitely hadn't been having a bad dream, Bakura felt tears welling up in his eyes. His lip trembled as he slowly finished the bread he was eating. Everyone was gone. Forever.

 _..._

 _The Royal Palace_

"Nefertari!" called Mahad as he ran into the gardens, where the blue-haired girl was once again sitting down on the grass, picking flowers and making them into a chain. She looked up at her friend as he sprinted over to her with a joyful smile on his face.

"Yes, Mahad?" Nefertari murmured in response, tilting her head to the side. The boy dropped to his knees in front of her, still smiling happily. "My father said he's going to teach us some magic in a few days! And he had this really cool new item Akhenaden made for him! Your father has one, too!"

"Item?" Nefertari questioned.

"Yeah!" Mahad grinned excitably. "Apparently they're very powerful! That's why my father wants us to learn magic earlier than most spellcasters!" Nefertari smiled a little, trying to contain her excitement.

"That's gonna be fun," she replied. "But... I'm nervous..."

"Why?" Mahad asked her.

"I don't think I'm ready to be a spellcaster yet," Nefertari admitted. "And... what are those new items...?"

"I'm sure we'll find out soon," Mahad smiled. "Our fathers are going to use them to save Egypt from bad people first."

"They must be very strong," Nefertari deduced before giggling as she placed the flower necklace she had made around Mahad's neck. Mahad only shook his head.

"Not funny, Neffy," he pouted.

 _..._

Bakura had now left the temple, dragging his small feet through the sand of his deserted village. All he could hear was the faint sound of the wind, feeling it stroke his hair and tickle the back of his neck, but soon he heard horses running towards the village. The boy's eyes widened; the guards must have been coming back for him!

Without hesitating, Bakura ran inside the nearest building to hide from the intruders, although he did peep through the window to see who was coming. This time he didn't see an army, but instead a group of three men with dark skin and black hair, dressed in different robes. They didn't look Egyptian.

"Looks like this place has been attacked already," said one of the men, who wore a red robe covered with a blue layer of cloth. He had a scarred left eye and some stubble to his face, along with short and prickly hair. "I didn't think the Persian forces had come this far yet."

"They haven't," said the long-haired man in a blue robe. He had a black goatee and a mustache connecting to it. "Maybe this place was abandoned years ago."

"There might still be some stuff to loot," added the man whose hair was tied back. He had a goatee and wore a beige robe, with both of his ears being pierced and a scar upon his lip. "We may as well take a look around."

"Caspar's got a point," said the short-haired man to the man in blue. "What's the harm in looking around for a while, Darius?"

"You really are a man of greed, aren't you, Rashan?" the man in blue, Darius, sighed, shaking his head as if disappointed. Rashan smirked.

"We're all greedy," he pointed out. "That's why we stowed away on the army's ship. We didn't come here to fight for the glory of Persia, we came to find some fine Egyptian gold!"

Hearing the man mentioning gold made Bakura gasp sharply before covering his mouth, almost screaming into his hand as tears blurred his vision. He saw that image again in his mind. He saw his father and mother being dropped into that cauldron, dead, as they dissolved into gold.

Bakura's gasp had been loud enough to catch Darius' attention. He turned his head towards the house, but Bakura had quickly crouched down to avoid being seen.

"What's the matter, Darius?" Caspar asked, looking in the same direction.

"I thought I heard something," Darius answered, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the building. He could see nothing, but he could definitely hear something - whimpering.

Darius jumped down from his horse, slowly stepping towards the abandoned home. As he went closer, the sound of terrified whining grew louder as if his approach had been noticed. Caspar and Rashan could also now hear the sound.

"Be careful, Darius, that might be a wild dog," Rashan warned. Darius knew that it wasn't an animal making that noise, so stepped into the hut. However, he drew out his sword just in case something attacked him, and he almost struck down the cowering child before halting himself.

"...Well, well," the blue-cloaked man mused, sheathing his sword and crouching down. Bakura shuffled back into the corner, hiding behind his hands as he trembled. "You guys, it's safe to come in. It's just a kid."

"A kid?" Rashan repeated, sounding confused as he and Caspar both entered the building. "What's a kid doing here? This village is far from any other place, and I doubt he could've got here on horseback."

"Unless his parents are around here somewhere," Caspar added. Darius frowned slightly, eyeing the small boy.

"Where are your parents?" he interrogated. Bakura didn't answer, so Dairus grabbed him by his hair and pulled hard, earning a shriek from the child. "Answer me, boy." Bakura only responded by breaking down in tears, sobbing loudly and rubbing his eyes as tears leaked down his cheeks. He couldn't give the answer. All he could see was his father dying. He could hear the screams of the villagers. He could see his parents being turned into gold.

"Darius," Caspar spoke softly. "Something tells me that the kid's parents ain't here." Darius glanced back at his associate before roughly letting go of Bakura's hair, standing up.

"Come on, let's leave him," the man said coldly. "The Persian army must have missed this one."

"Not Persians..." choked Bakura as he continued to cry heavily, his head hanging. The three Persian men looked down at the young boy.

"Not Persians, eh?" Darius repeated. "Well, you certainly sound smart for your age." Once again, Darius crouched down, but Bakura gave him no eye contact. "If it wasn't Persians who ransacked this place, then who was it?"

"Egyptians..." Bakura whimpered, rubbing his eyes.

"He might just be confused," Rashan guessed.

"No!" Bakura cried. "Egyptians did it! They turned everyone into gold! My parents are gold now!"

The three men looked really confused, and none of them believed Bakura's words. "That's not possible," Rashan spoke up. "People don't get turned into gold."

"They did! They did!" Bakura wailed. "They went underground a-a-and they dropped them into the gold a-a-and then they made gold treasure!"

"I don't know," Caspar admitted, folding his arms. "It sounds too weird for a kid to make up."

"Kids always make stuff up," Darius huffed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not making it up!" Bakura insisted, his temper rising as he cried louder. "They became gold!"

Darius' gaze softened slightly. "Maybe he is telling the truth," he muttered. "The Egyptians are savage people who always do extreme things. Turning people into gold? It wouldn't surprise me."

"So... what do we do with him?" Rashan questioned. "His parents are clearly dead and he's the only one left here..."

"We can't kill him," Caspar decided before the other two could suggest it. "Look at him; he's... he's so small!"

"The Persian soldiers might kill women and children, but we're not part of them," Darius pointed out, picking Bakura up in his arms. "This kid will die out here if we leave him. Let's take him with us."

Bakura looked up at Darius, still with tear-stained cheeks. Darius only looked back at him with a gaze which showed some sort of sympathy, but it wasn't the same look his father gave him. His father would smile and look at him with warmth and love. He tried his best to just imagine Nara's face instead of Darius', then clinging to the Persian man's robe for comfort. It didn't help that he was also tired, and he could feel himself drifting into slumber as his eyelids fluttered.

 _..._

 _ **6 Days later...**_

 _The Royal Palace_

"The war is over!" Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen announced to his people from his balcony, hearing as everyone cheered. Beside him stood Ankhesenamon with the infant Atem in her arms. She looked proud and relieved, but internally she was feeling sorrow. Akhenaden had to give up his family, sacrificing what he loved to save Egypt, but she had no idea why he had to do such a thing.

"No longer will Egypt fall to foreign armies," Akhenamkhanen continued. "As much as we want peace, sometimes we have no choice but to fight back if our enemies are blinded by their lust for blood." He turned his head to look back at his priests, who were also standing behind him, and he gestured to them proudly. "We have the High Priests to thank for saving our kingdom, and it is Akhenaden who forged the Millennium Items for us! If it were not for these items he created, we would have fallen and our kingdom would have been buried in the sand!"

The people cheered once again, chanting Akhenaden's name. Everyone, including the other priests, were so proud of him, but he could only stand there gazing at the ground with a somber look on his face. Nobody could understand why he looked so guilty and ashamed - it only worried those who stood close to him. He had saved Egypt. Why was he full of sorrow?

 _..._

 _Kom El-Avaris_

"I can't believe the Egyptians won," Rashan grumbled as he sat by the fire with his arms folded. The group had found the ruins of Kom El-Avaris - a village which had been abandoned years ago.

"It was only the Pharaoh and his priests," Caspar recalled. "How did seven people defeat an entire army?"

"Apparently it was because of some magical items they recently made," Darius answered, a thoughtful expression on his face as he gazed into the flames. "Seven magical items, forged from gold." He turned his head to look down at Bakura, who stared at the fire with glazed eyes. He had been fairly quiet after hearing of Egypt's victory, not once saying a word or even responding to anything the men said.

Rashan noticed how Darius was looking at Bakura, his eyes drooping. "You don't suppose those items are the ones which...?" The short-haired man nodded his head in Bakura's direction, not wanting to blatantly say anything in front of the child.

"Funny, isn't it?" Darius responded with a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "Here we were, thinking the kid was crazy when he was talking about the Egyptian army turning his parents into gold, but it turns out the Pharaoh's High Priests created some new magical golden items. Sounds like they probably have a dark secret they wanna keep hidden."

The three men all looked at Bakura now to see if he would react to any of Darius' words, but he didn't. His mind was elsewhere.

"Well, I guess we won't be going back to Persia any time soon," Caspar spoke up to fill the silence, leaning back on his elbows. "The ships have all been destroyed, and the few that were spared have already returned home."

"Persia was no fun, anyway," Rashan huffed. "Besides, we were all wanted men. At least here nobody will be looking for us."

"Yeah, and there's plenty of treasure for us to steal," Caspar grinned. "I've heard that thieving is a big problem here in Egypt, and some people don't mind trading with thieves at all."

"You greedy fools will fit right in," Darius scoffed, though he was only joking playfully in his own way. "All you two think about is stealing and trading."

"Gotta steal to live, Darius," Caspar chuckled.

While the three men thought Bakura wasn't listening, he truthfully was. He listened to their conversation about stealing and could only hear his father's voice in his head. Nara always did laugh heartily as he talked about how he stole treasure from trap-filled tombs, and Kanchani would also talk about how she and her partner stole and traded gold and relics.

Yet no emotion showed on his face at all. All he did was stare at the fire.

Tears weren't going to bring his parents back.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	3. III

**~III~**

 _The Royal Palace_

High Priest Kamuzu stood in the garden, holding his Millennium Rod as he faced both Mahad and Nefertari.

"You two are both very lucky to have spellcaster blood," he told the pair. "There aren't many spellcasters left. Not after the war. I believe a bright future awaits the pair of you, since you are both of noble blood and spellcaster blood."

"Will we be able to use those cool items when we grow up?" Mahad asked his father, beaming with excitement.

"Perhaps," Kamuzu answered seriously. "The items choose the owner, but I believe you two will easily be chosen."

Mahad turned to look at Nefertari, still grinning. "Which item do you think will choose you?" Nefertari only shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," she replied before shuddering. "I hope it's not the Millennium Eye. Blah!"

Kamuzu stood thoughtfully for a moment, thinking about Akhenaden and Seto. Seto was now far away from the city with Nephthys, likely to never return again. If he were still here, he would be the one most likely to inherit the Millennium Eye.

"What about your father's item?" Mahad queried. "The Millennium Ring?"

"It looks cool, but I still don't know," Nefertari answered. "I just don't like the Millennium Eye."

"All of the items are very powerful and require a lot of strength," Kamuzu explained. "You might see the eye as the most painful to have, but all of them can be painful if wielded incorrectly.

"How else can they be painful?" Nefertari asked, tilting her head. She was only aware of the concept of physical pain.

"You're too young to understand that much," Kamuzu said in response. "I'll teach you when you're older, but for now you must begin to learn basic magic if you wish to become powerful spellcasters. Are you ready?"

"Yes, father!" answered Mahad.

"Yes, Priest Kamuzu," Nefertari nodded with a smile.

 _..._

 _Kom El-Avaris_

"Man, I'm getting kinda hungry," said Caspar as he rubbed his grumbling stomach. "The stock from that last village really didn't last long. I thought food from a massacred village would have lasted longer..."

"We had plenty of it," Darius reminded him. "You just ate it all."

"There's gotta be another village near this place," Rashan theorized. "People or not, we've gotta find somewhere with food."

"I'm willing to butcher a cow myself, at this point," Caspar grumbled, flopping onto his front. "I'm starving."

"I often wonder if your stomach is just a bottomless pit, Caspar," Darius sighed, shaking his head. He then looked over at Bakura, who current lay curled up under Darius' discarded blue robe. "Hey, kid. You hungry?"

Bakura didn't respond, causing the three to look at each other. "He's still shaken up," Rashan reminded the other two quietly, "but he hasn't eaten much recently, so I bet he's starving."

"Yeah," Caspar agreed sadly.

"You're the one who ate all the food," Darius growled at him, only prompting Caspar to grin and shrug his shoulders. That's when Darius stood up. "Right. Looks like we're gonna have to go and look for food, then."

"Should one of us stay here and watch the kid?" asked Rashan, looking up at Darius. Darius shook his head.

"He's coming with us," he announced.

"Whoa, whoa, Darius, are you sure that's a good idea?" questioned Caspar as he stood up, a look of worry on his face. "That kid watched his entire village being slaughter a few nights ago. I don't think he'd want to see more bloodshed if we come across a village which hasn't been abandoned."

"That kid will never get over his trauma," Darius reminded Caspar, frowning. "He won't forget what those people did to his village. Either we raise a coward, or we make him face his fears. He needs to become what he fears most."

"I don't think this will help," Caspar admitted.

"Not at first," Darius added. "He'll still hate seeing villagers being slaughtered, but soon enough he will slowly begin to take joy in seeing death. He will have pent up rage which he wishes to release, and he will release it on any Egyptian he sees. The boy will become strong and merciless. If he doesn't... he won't live for much longer."

"I just don't think it's right," Caspar sighed. "I mean, he'll grow up to hate everyone."

"Good," Darius spat. "We're raising him as one of us, aren't we? We all hate the Egyptians. We're all greedy bandits who will do anything to get what we want. If he's going to be one of us, slaughter is something he's going to see a lot. Besides, it's better that he learns to fight anyone who stands in his way. What do you suppose would happen if little timid Bakura was stealing from a tomb, only to be caught by guards? He'd be caught and tortured, possibly even killed, because he'd be too afraid to fight back. He'd be afraid of the Egyptian soldiers. If he grows in emotional and physical strength, he will fight no matter how many wounds he receives. He will not hesitate to kill anyone who threatens him. That will be the Bakura who lives a long life, not the timid little boy who cowers and hides."

"Hm..." Caspar reacted, not knowing what else to say.

"Come on," Darius commanded as he approached the horses. "It's time for us to get some food before we all starve to death."

Rashan stepped over to Bakura, lifting him up but keeping him wrapped in Darius' cloak. He decided that he would be the one to hold Bakura while riding his horse.

 _..._

 _The Royal Palace_

Haku was sitting within the throne room, teaching himself to read and write. He was to one day act as a scribe for the Pharaoh, but to do that he first had to make sure he was using the correct symbols.

The young boy then spotted Nefertari's father, High Priest Masudah, walking through the large room, deciding to call him over. "Priest Masudah!" he called with a wave, catching the man's attention. "Can you check my writing? Please?"

Masudah stared for a moment before nodding his head, wandering over. "Still practicing to write, boy?" he asked him. Haku nodded his head proudly.

"I want to be the best scribe ever!" he chirped. "I will write about everything! Everybody will know about the Pharaoh!"

"Some things shouldn't be written about," Masudah warned him. "There are some things which must be kept a secret."

"Huh?" Haku responded, tilting his head curiously. "Like what?"

"You'll find out when you're older," Masudah sighed before smiling. "You're symbols are perfect, by the way. Very advanced for your age."

"Thank you," Haku thanked with a grin, quickly forgetting about the short conversation between him and Masudah.

"Nefertari and Mahad are outside," Masudah then said. "You can go and see them; they've just finished their magic lesson with High Priest Kamuzu."

"Okay!" Haku beamed, jumping up to his feet. "I'll do some more learning later!" And without, Haku skipped out of the throne room. Masudah watched him leave before continuing with his walk, where he merely approached Akhenamkhanen and told him that no trouble had been found in the city. On his mind, however, he was deeply concerned about the evil he could feel within the Millennium Ring. It was a sense of pain, hatred and fear; something which made Masudah feel uneasy.

Meanwhile, out in the garden, Haku ran over to Mahad and Nefertari, who were both happily playing together. Nefertari smiled and waved at him.

"Hello, Haku!" she greeted happily. Haku waved back with a grin.

"Hello!" he giggled. "Did you guys really get to learn some magic?"

"Yep!" Mahad answered proudly, his hands on his hips as he grinned. "We got to learn about how to use magic and we even learned a few spells!"

"Can you show me?" Haku pressed, intrigued.

"We're not allowed," Nefertari cut in. "Priest Kamuzu said we should never use magic for fun."

"Aw," Haku pouted. "It's still very cool!"

"It is," Nefertari agreed smugly, folding her arms. "It's really cool."

"I've been doing some more writing," Haku announced. "Priest Masudah said that I'm really good at writing for my age!"

"That's cool, too!" said Mahad.

"Not as cool as magic," Nefertari pointed out. Mahad nudged her arm.

"Don't be rude, Neffy!" he laughed. "It's still cool!"

"But it's just not as cool as magic," Nefertari smirked. Haku folded his arms and huffed, rolling his eyes. Mahad smiled and gave him a pat on the back.

"She always likes to be better than everyone else," he assured him.

"I heard that!" Nefertari pouted, putting her hands on her hips. Haku and Mahad just laughed together, and Nefertari eventually joined in.

 _..._

 _Tel el-Montu_

"There's a good place to strike," Darius said as he and the other two Persians looked at a distant village illuminated by torches. They had been riding for a few hours, so night had fallen.

"Three of us won't be able to fend off an entire village," Rashan pointed out. "The kid will only be a burden, too. Our best strategy is to burn the place to the ground."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Darius agreed. "It shouldn't be too hard, either; looks like there are plenty of torches waiting to be used, anyway."

"We can still make our own, if we really need to," Caspar pointed out.

"I doubt we'll need to," Darius shut down. "Come on." He spurred his horse on, letting it rear up before he galloped towards the village. Rashan and Caspar followed, with Bakura not really being aware of what was about to happen.

The trio stormed into the village together, instantly knocking down the torches which illuminated the small streets. The nearby houses, built from wood, easily went up in flames, and almost immediately the village was full of panicked screams as inhabitants fled their homes.

"That should keep 'em from paying much attention to us," Darius said quietly. "Grab what you can, boys, and kill anyone who tries to stand in your way."

The three men hopped down from their horses, with Bakura remaining upon Rashan's mount. The screams caused him to suddenly widen his eyes as he became fully aware of what was going on. He remembered the screams from Kul Elna. He remembered how everyone ran from the Pharaoh's guards. The memories even made him feel sick, and he could feel his body trembling violently. Where were the three Persians? Were they in danger?

Bakura spotted Rashan quickly leaving a house, reaching his small hand out for him. Was he being chased? Was someone going to attack him? Bakura was too frightened to call for him, fearing that someone would only come and kill him or turn him into gold, but then he spotted a woman following Rashan with a dagger. She looked terrified, but she let out a shriek and threw herself at Rashan, only to have the man swiftly turn around and bury his own dagger into her stomach. The woman spat blood as her eyes went wide, death written all over her face, and Rashan then kicked her to the ground almost without remorse as he carried away some goods he had stolen.

The sight made Bakura turn pale. He couldn't feel himself breathing anymore. Rashan was a monster. The Persians were monsters. They were killing villagers, just like how the Pharaoh's soldiers killed the inhabitants of Kul Elna.

Without even realising it, Bakura had fallen from Rashan's horse. He yelped upon impact, quickly stumbling up to his feet before he decided to run. He had to get away.

Caspar walked among the chaos quite calmly, returning to the three horses, until he caught sight of Bakura running away. He almost dropped what he was carrying, turning his head to look towards Darius, who had just killed a man armed with a sword. "Darius!" Caspar shouted. "Bakura's running away!"

"That little..." Darius snarled, marching past Caspar and dumping his own stolen goods at the other man's feet. "Watch my stuff. I'll get him." Darius then broke into a sprint as he darted after Bakura, easily being able to catch up with the small child. He grabbed him and lifted him up, only to have the boy squirm and scream in his grasp.

"Let me go!" he wailed, flailing his little legs. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Shut it," Darius hissed, carrying Bakura almost painfully back to the horses. The young boy continued to struggle.

"You're bad!" he cried out. "You're horrible!"

"Bakura," Darius growled, but he wasn't heard over Bakura's yells and cries.

"I don't wanna be turned to gold!" Bakura howled. "MAMA! PAPA!"

"Bakura, listen to me!" Darius snapped, almost squeezing the child to get his attention. He held him with one arm, grabbing his head with the other and forcing him to look at the chaos. Bakura tried to close his eyes and look away, but he couldn't even keep his own eyes closed.

"Look at them, Bakura," Darius commanded. "Look at them. Some of these people are dead. They've lost their homes. They've lost everything they own. Why do you think that is?"

"Because you did it!" Bakura yelled angrily.

"Because the world is cruel," Darius corrected. "Your village wasn't the first to face slaughter. Many villages, in Egypt or Persia or any other land, suffer this fate. Bandits or foreigners or soldiers will kill to get what they want. That's the reality of the world, Bakura. Either you can be like them, living a peaceful village life until you are attacked and killed, or you can be like us, living a life which lasts much longer by showing that you are strong."

Bakura stared at the sight before him before tightly closing his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't wanna hurt people," he whimpered. "I don't wanna be bad!"

"You don't have much of a choice," Darius informed him. "The only good people who live long are the rich. They are protected. They have all the food and riches they need. They can only be robbed when they're dead. But for everyone else, living is not as easy. You have to work hard if you want to live through a single day, and for what? You won't be given a decent burial. You won't be remembered. You won't even live long enough to prepare for your journey to the afterlife. You'll be living a life of fear, wondering when you'll be the victim of slaughter."

Was that true? Was the world truly like this? Was this a world where the one rule was kill or be killed? It seemed likely. Bakura's own village fell at the hands of those who were supposed to rule the land, and Tel el-Montu was now falling at the hands of foreign bandits.

Bakura's crying gradually stopped as he stared at the sight, letting everything process and sink into his mind. His eyes glazed over as if his soul had suddenly left his body, and his expression went from frightened to empty. Nothing was there. It was like he had completely shut down.

Darius took this as a sign that Bakura had listened to his words, so carried him to Rashan and handed him over. "He's learning," he said quietly. "Let's get going, boys. Back to Kom El-Avaris!"

With that, the trio rode away back towards their village, with Bakura sitting still and silent for the entire journey.

 _..._

 _The Royal Palace_

Masudah spent the night squirming uncomfortably in his sleep. Ever since he became the owner of the Millennium Ring, he had been having vivid nightmares. He could see death. Blood. Slaughter. All he heard was screaming, and overlooking the entire scene was a large shadow of some kind of dark dragon-like monster with red eyes.

The man gasped sharply as he threw himself out of his bed, his eyes wide. It took him a few moments to register the fact that he was no longer in his nightmare, and he looked down at the pendant around his neck. This was what was causing him to have those nightmares, but why? Why was this item showing him something like that? There was nothing like that documented in history...

Unless this was something better left in the past.

 _..._

 _Kom El-Avaris_

The next morning, Caspar left the hut and stretched, exaggerating the action greatly before letting out a content sigh. It was a bright and sunny day, as usual, but he just seemed to notice it more.

Rashan followed Caspar outside and yawned tiredly. "A little early for you, Caspar," he mumbled. "Usually you're the last one to wake up."

"I felt refreshed after eating some of that food we stole last night," Caspar grinned. "It was some pretty good stuff."

"Yeah, but this stock is smaller than the last," Rashan pointed out.

"Which is why we'll be moving to the Capital," Darius announced as he stepped outside, catching the attention of the two men. They both turned to face him.

"Wait, what?" Caspar reacted. "You can't be serious, Darius! Won't the guards just slaughter us the moment we even try to step foot into the city?"

"All good bandits know that the front entrance is a no-no," Darius reminded him. "We'll sneak our way into the city, and we'll find a little place to stay. If the crime rates truly are as bad as I've heard, we should find a group in no time."

"The Capital is a long way from here, ain't it?" Rashan asked.

"We'll stop by some villages along the way," Darius assured, "and we'll be sure to leave our mark."

"Hm," Rashan reacted awkwardly. "When do we set off?"

"We should give it a few days," Darius planned. "We'll finish this stock, then we'll get moving."

"Does Bakura know about all this?" Caspar queried.

"He'll be fine," Darius reassured. "He's fairly quiet when we ride our horses, and he'll probably fall asleep on the journey, anyway."

"I guess you're right," Caspar agreed, shrugging. "He'll be fine."

"Hopefully..." Rashan muttered, looking towards the house the three had been staying inside. Bakura still hadn't awoken. Both Rashan and Caspar couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy, while Darius seemed much harder to read. Even so, moving Bakura to the capital would at least prevent the child from seeing anymore village slaughter.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	4. IV

**~IV~**

 _The Capital City_

It had been quite a few days now, but finally the three Persians had managed to reach the Capital. As they had planned, they sneaked into the city without encountering any of the guards.

For the entire journey Bakura had been silent, and most of the time he had slept. Now, though, he was wide awake and borderline petrified; he had never seen such an intimidating place before. There were so many buildings and so many people, with lots of loud noises coming from all angles. It was beginning to overwhelm him.

"Reminds me of home," Caspar commented with a thoughtful smile. "What about you, Darius?"

"I never got attached to that city," the long-haired man huffed.

"You don't get attached to anything," Caspar added, rolling his eyes while maintaining his smile.

"Yeah, and that's how I've kept alive," Darius countered. "People who get too attached to something only end up losing their lives."

"Deep," was all Rashan said as he carried Bakura. "Now, can we please find somewhere to stay?"

"Come on," Darius responded. "We'll find an inn; those places are always crawling with criminals."

The trio walked together in search of the nearest shady-looking inn, but Bakura's attention was on the palace. The people there were responsible for slaughtering the Kul Elna villagers.

He hated them.

 _..._

 _The Royal Palace_

High Priest Kamuzu has been teaching Mahad and Nefertari once again before letting them play together with Haku in the court. They were running together and laughing, as usual, but then they ran close to the grand entrance to the entire palace. This large entrance, which was guarded, led from the palace into the outside world.

"Look," Haku smiled as he pointed. "Through there, you can get into the city."

"My father goes there a lot," Mahad stated.

"Mine, too," Nefertari added. "He said that the city is no place for noble children."

"Yes," Mahad agreed. "My father said the city is full of petty thieves and criminals."

"And common people who want to hurt us," Nefertari added with a disgusted look on her small face.

"My family lives in the city," Haku pointed out, earning a scoff from Nefertari.

"My father is too noble to live in the city," the blue-haired girl taunted. "He's allowed to live here, and so is Mahad's father."

Haku looked down, somewhat hurt by the comment, but it was Mahad who tried to ease the tension caused by Nefertari.

"I think your father is very brave," the young spellcaster smiled as he put his arm around Haku. "The city is a very scary place, but I don't think it's that scary. Not everyone there is bad."

The young scribe smiled and nodded his head while Nefertari could only roll her eyes. She didn't believe that the city could be a nice place. What could be nicer than a safe palace where servants did everything for you?

"Children," Masudah called, approaching the group. "You shouldn't be so close to the gate. Go back and play closer to the palace."

"Let's go," Mahad murmured. "We shouldn't make the grown-ups mad."

"Yeah," Haku agreed, walking with the young spellcaster.

"Hmph," Nefertari huffed. "I'm not scared of the grown-ups."

"Nefertari," Masudah responded in a warning tone of voice. Nefertari stared at him for a moment with her purple eyes, her look of strength and confidence fading. She let out a sigh and nodded her head.

"Sorry, father," she apologized before traipsing behind Mahad and Haku. Masudah watched the trio, then letting out a sigh once he was certain that they were far away from the gate. That was when the High Priest took another look at his Millennium Ring. He stared right into its eye, using his magic to contain the evil he could feel trying to call out to him, but he knew that his magic was weakening. The evil within the ring was growing stronger by the day...

 _..._

 _The Capital City_

A drunken Rashan staggered out of one of the shady inns, with Caspar having to make sure he didn't fall while also carrying Bakura.

"We shouldn't have let Rash drink so much," Caspar commented in a strained tone of voice. "He almost got us all killed in there."

"No," Darius corrected, "he almost got himself killed. We handled those Egyptian criminals with ease, and now we know of a home which had been recently emptied. That will be our home from now on."

"Someone might already be there," Caspar pointed out.

"Not for long," Darius commented almost ominously. He then glanced back so that he was looking at the oddly-silent Bakura. "Maybe once we settle down the boy will start talking," the long-haired man thought out loud. "I want to find out more about him and his village."

"He must have many stories to tell," Caspar sighed, holding Bakura close as he walked with Rashan stumbling beside him. "But I still worry about him. That trauma is still fresh in his mind..."

"It becomes more and more distant after each night passes," Darius huffed. "He'll forget his own parents' faces soon, with him being so young."

Darius was confident that Bakura would talk soon, but he was wrong.

It would be four years before Bakura said anything.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	5. V

**~V~**

 _ **4 years later...**_

 _The Capital City_

"Stop, thief!" called a man who owned a bread stall. He couldn't make his way through the crowd fast enough to chase the white-haired boy who had stolen from him, and could only watch as the child escaped down a distant alleyway.

Bakura looked back with a grin on his face, seeing that he was no longer being chased. The scruffy-haired boy slowed down so that he was now walking, and he entered a rather shady back street. It was quiet, and only a few people could be seen. These dangerous-looking people watched Bakura, but Bakura did not feel threatened by them. Everyone on this street knew him, for he was the only child living there.

The young boy pushed his way through the door's curtain, entering his home which he had lived in for four years. "I'm back!" he called out to the three Persians, who immediately emerged so that they could greet him.

"Hey, look," Rashan smiled. "Bakura's back."

"I brought back two loaves of bread," Bakura grinned, placing them down on the wooden table. "Nobody could catch me."

"Ah, childhood," Caspar sighed thoughtfully with a smile on his face. "A time when we could outrun the adults with ease due to being much smaller. I miss those days."

"Caspar, start a fire," Darius commanded. "We're going to toast this bread."

"And I'll cut it into slices," Rashan spoke up as Caspar went to start a small fire. Darius nodded in approval before looking down at Bakura, seeing that the child was looking up at him with a cheesy grin, with one of his teeth missing. He was waiting for praise, so Darius simply ruffled his hair. That was the most praise anyone would get from a man like Darius.

It wasn't long to wait until the group was sitting by the flames while eating their toasted bread, and for a good while the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the crackling fire and the munching of the toasted slices, but soon Rashan finally spoke up.

"So, Bakura," he began while his mouth was still partially full. "How've you been feeling these last few years?"

"Eh?" Bakura responded, cocking his head oddly as he clutched another bread slice with both hands. Rashan swallowed hard before continuing.

"You haven't really said much about how you're feeling," the man pointed out. "You were a very quiet kid when we first picked you up - until you started crying and screaming, that is - but now you speak a lot more yet you never talk about what you're actually feeling. Has living in the city made you feel better? What's on your mind?"

Bakura looked tense for a moment, glaring at Rashan before he shrugged his shoulders, munching on his toast violently as he then spoke up. "That's a lotta questions," he replied calmly, then swallowing the bread in his mouth. He shifted into a more comfortable sitting position, locking his dark eyes onto Rashan. "I don't care where we live. Living here is easy 'cause I can walk outside and steal any food or valuable I want. The city is huge, and it's easy to lose the Pharaoh's guards when they chase you."

"Heh," Rashan chuckled. "Quite the shifty little fella, huh? We've taught you our ways well." Bakura shook his head, which surprised Rashan.

"I'm not only stealing for you guys," he admitted. "I'm stealing because my dad always wanted me to become a thief like him."

The trio all had different looks of surprise on their faces. This was the first time Bakura had spoken about his life in Kul Elna, and he sounded relatively relaxed.

"So, your father was a thief," Darius spoke up thoughtfully, almost making Rashan and Caspar flinch. "Can you tell us more about him?"

The other two were aware that Bakura could flip any moment, but surprisingly he didn't seem to mind being pestered by Darius. "His name was Nara. The other thieves in my village knew him and my mother well. I used to like it when he brought home gifts from his tomb robbing, and..." Bakura began to slow down his speech as his father's death played again before his very eyes, "and... he... he always wanted me to... to be a... brave thief..."

Caspar and Rashan could see his growing struggle to continue talking, but Darius ignored these warning signs. "You never told us that your village was a village of thieves," he pointed out, "and Nara doesn't sound like a very Egyptian name."

"It sounds Sanskrit," Rashan couldn't help but point out, then looking at the tense Bakura. "Bakura, did you come from India?"

"My erm... my parents did..." Bakura struggled to say, his eyes glazing over as the screams of the Kul Elna villagers gradually grew louder in his ears. "Nara and K... Kanchani... They were both from India... My dad told me that they were sent away to Egypt, and then they found Kul Elna..."

"So they're no different from us," Caspar commented. Bakura briefly snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the man with the short ponytail and goatee. He found himself nodding his head slowly.

"They were a bit like you," he admitted, his eyes wandering to the floor. "...I miss them..."

"Of course you do," Rashan spoke up, grabbing Bakura's attention. "They were killed in a tragic event. If you didn't miss them, you'd be evil."

"Huh," was all Bakura could say in response, staring at the remains of the piece of bread in his grasp. For a few moments everyone continued to eat, but Bakura didn't move. He soon decided to put down the bread, getting up to his feet. Darius gave him a curious stare, raising a brow.

"What are you doing?" he asked, almost sounding irritated.

"I'm not hungry," Bakura murmured quietly, his attitude having changed all of a sudden. "You guys can have my food." The white-haired child didn't give the others any time to reply as he suddenly made his way out of the house. The trio of Persians looked at one another, but Darius did not share the same confusion as Rashan and Caspar.

"We pushed him too far," Darius described. "He needs time alone."

"Poor lil' guy..." Caspar sighed. "I feel so bad for him, y'know? It's been four years but he's still bothered by what happened to him..."

"Of course he is," Darius hissed, glaring at Caspar. "He's a child, and what happened was completely abnormal. He'll toughen up one day, and we've got to continue pushing him, otherwise he will only grow weak."

"What if pushing him makes him weaker?" Rashan queried, earning a scowl from Darius which immediately made him flinch slightly.

"It won't make him weaker," the long-haired man assured. "He's growing stronger, and when he's a grown man he will be able to survive alone without needing to beg in the streets or throw himself into slavery."

"You always sound so certain in your words," Rashan pointed out thoughtfully.

"Because I am certain, Rashan," Darius growled, gritting his teeth. "Now, stop pestering me. The child needs time alone, so let's just enjoy the rest of our food while he is out."

Even though both Rashan and Caspar were somewhat worried about Bakura and uncertain in Darius' words of reassurance, they silently continued to eat their bread without giving each other eye contact.

 _..._

 _The Royal Palace_

"How is he?" Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen asked, referring to High Priest Masudah, who had recently fallen ill.

"His condition is not improving," Kamuzu revealed with a sigh as he kneeled before the pharaoh. "He grows weaker by the day and he can barely sleep at night. He says he sees death, and all he hears is screams. It's almost as if a dark force within the ring is consuming him."

"How bizarre," Akhenamkhanen reacted, turning his head to face his younger twin brother, Akhenaden. "How does this sound to you?"

Akhenaden took a few moments to respond as he stood with wide eyes. He knew exactly who the screams belonged to - those screams belonged to the people of Kul Elna.

"...I cannot say," the High Priest finally answered, closing his eyes as he looked away almost with guilt. "I could not translate the entire Millennium Spellbook, so I do not know of any possible side-effects which come with the creation of these items."

"You created them yet you do not know?" Akhenamkhanen queried before releasing an exhale of air. "Never mind." The pharaoh then looked back at Kamuzu. "Do you expect Priest Masudah to make a recovery soon?" The solemn expression on Kamuzu's face was enough to answer Akhenamkhanen's question.

"He's only been getting worse," the priest admitted. "Currently his condition is terrible. I don't expect him to survive the night."

"How are we going to tell his daughter?" asked High Priest Siamun, the holder of the Millennium Key. "Nefertari lost her mother the day she was born. Could she truly handle losing her father when she is still so young?"

"She is nine years old," Akhenamkhanen recalled, "and she is maturing fast. She'll be able to understand what's happening, but that will not change the fact that her heart will break."

"We must look after her," Siamun pointed out. "She has lived in this palace all her life. This is her home. If Masudah truly does pass into the afterlife tonight, then we must take good care of young Nefertari until she is old enough to carry on in her father's place."

"Shouldn't someone else wield the Millennium Ring while she is growing?" questioned Akhenaden.

"No," Akhenamkhanen decided. "That pendant is dangerous. Only an individual with a trained soul will be able wield such a powerful item, which is why Nefertari must continue her training."

"Yes," Kamuzu agreed, nodding his head. "She has been a good student of mine. Masudah was right to assume that she was connected to the goddess Wadjet; that girl has much potential."

"Will she be strong enough to wield the Millennium Ring?" Siamun asked, sounding concerned. "Do we really want to burden her with such a task? She may be strong now, but her soul may alter when Masudah dies. She could weaken or become vulnerable. The ring may even manipulate her."

"We shall see in the future," Akhenamkhanen finalised. "She is still only a child. For now, we must prepare to aid her through her upcoming grief. Only then will her soul be able to strengthen and repair itself."

The other priests agreed with their pharaoh as the topic of Masudah's fate came to a conclusion, but what nobody knew was that Nefertari had been standing behind a pillar, listening to the discussion the whole time.

Outside in the courtyard, Mahad and Haku were taking care of the four-year-old Prince Atem, who was giggling and running with glee. Mahad and Haku both wore smiles as Atem jumped onto his belly, rolling around in the grass like an excited puppy, but the two older boys spotted Nefertari as she sprinted out of the palace. Immediately they both knew that something was wrong.

"Wait here," Mahad said to Haku, gesturing for him to stay behind so that he could keep his eye on Atem. The young spellcaster swiftly jogged towards Nefertari, catching up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Neffy," he spoke softly, watching as the tearful girl sharply turned around to face him. "What's the matter?"

"They were talking about my father," Nefertari answered with a hateful frown, tears streaming down her cheeks. "They said... they said that he's going to..."

Mahad already knew what Nefertari was trying to say. Despite not being updated on Masudah's condition, he was well aware that the High Priest was sick and far from recovering. The brown-haired boy nodded his head thoughtfully before wrapping his arms around his blue-haired friend, attempting to comfort her, but she pushed him away.

"It's not fair!" she howled. "I already lost my mother! Why do I have to lose my father, too?!"

"The world is cruel," was all the young Mahad could say. "Bad things happen to everyone."

"Your father's still alive and well!" Nefertari snapped suddenly. "I'm going to be an orphan!"

"Neffy..." Mahad sighed sadly, his eyes drooping as he rubbed her shoulder. "You still have us. We're your family too... right?" Nefertari shook her head.

"It's not the same," she sobbed.

"We're all going to lose our parents some day," Mahad reminded her. "One day my father will die, as will Haku's and Atem's. By then, we will all be parents, and our children will lose us."

Nefertari wiped her eyes with her hand, shaking her head. "It's not fair," she repeated, sniffling.

"I know," Mahad nodded, speaking softly, "but we're going to take care of you, Neffy. _I_ will take care of you. That's a promise."

Mahad and Nefertari had to look out for each other. That was something both Kamuzu and Masudah had explained to the pair. The two children were close friends, but in the future they were destined to be more than that. They were to marry.

Still, Nefertari could not accept Mahad's kind gestures. She pushed him back again, gritting her teeth. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled in his face before turning on her heel, heading towards the gates of the palace. Most of the adults were too busy to watch the children today due to the circumstances involving Masudah, with the only adults being the guards at the gates. They didn't even have any time to react to Nefertari as she suddenly fled the palace courtyard - something she would never usually decide to do even if she had been dared.

"Nefertari!" Mahad called out, attempting to chase after his female friend.

"Stop!" one guard commanded him, preventing him from leaving. "You must stay behind these walls, young Mahad; I'll bring Nefertari back."

"Please, it's dangerous out there!" Mahad reacted, his tone wavering with worry. "I don't want Nefertari to get hurt!"

"Just stay here, she'll be back here soon enough," the guard assured, then nodding to his associate before running after Masudah's daughter. The other guard who remained at the gate simply gestured for Mahad to return to the palace, which the boy did so reluctantly.

 _..._

 _The Capital City_

The streets were crowded with tall people. The environment was intimidating. For a child, it was like being in living forest.

Some children were able to navigate this forest with ease, slipping through the small gaps between the people in the crowd, but other children kept bumping into the human trees. That is why these children would rather choose to flee into the less-crowded alleyways, not knowing what dangers lurked there.

Nefertari panted heavily, having vanished from sight so that she could not be found by any guards or anyone who would recognize her. She fell to her knees and broke down crying, wailing as her face turned red. Tears stained her brown cheeks, with some drops falling into the sand.

"Well, look what we have here," game a gruff voice belonging to an older man. Before Nefertari could lift her head, a handful of her hair was grabbed and she was forced to stand. "Isn't this girl the daughter of one of the High Priests?"

"So she is," said another rough-looking man who wore a demented grin. "Imagine how much money we'd be paid to return her."

"Let go!" Nefertari demanded tearfully, trying to punch and kick the man who was holding her. "You're hurting me! Let go!"

"You don't get to make demands, missy," spoke the first man as he chuckled darkly. "Let's take her back to our little place, then we'll let the guards know we have her. We'll threaten to kill her if we're not paid!"

The two men cackled as the began dragging Nefertari further down the alley, covering her mouth so that she didn't scream, but one child had spotted the scene. He had simply watched with a curious expression before silently deciding to follow. Why would the daughter of a High Priest be in the city?

Nefertari was dragged to a small building which blended in with the others, and there she was thrown to the ground. One of the men tied her wrists and ankles to prevent her from getting away.

"Let's go into the market," the other man grinned. "I bet the guards must be looking for her. We'll keep our ears open for anyone asking if this girl has been seen."

"Good idea," replied the second man, standing up. He looked down at Nefertari with a smug smirk. "Wait right here, princess."

"I'm not a princess!" Nefertari corrected through her fearful tears, but the two men left without acknowledging her response. The young girl sat there for a moment, her head bowed as she let herself weep quietly. She knew the city was a dangerous place. She knew commoners were nothing but selfish villains.

"Princess, huh?" came a voice which startled Nefertari, causing her to look up. Standing by the closed door was a white-haired boy.

Nefertari didn't speak at all, thinking that she was just imagining things. There was a silence for a moment between the two until Bakura stepped closer to her, his arms folded.

"I heard them say you were a daughter of one the pharaoh's priests," the recalled, watching as Nefertari squirmed to escape her bonds.

"Go away!" Nefertari roared as tears fell from her purple eyes. "You filthy common boy... I know you're with them!"

Bakura stopped walking, but his grin remained on his face. "I'm not with them," he mused. "I was able to sneak in here before they left; they left the door wide open."

"Why are you here?!" Nefertari snarled defensively, still trying to free herself. "What do you want?!" Bakura simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I wanted to see why you were in the city," he answered. "It's normally a big deal when a High Priest comes here. You just look like you're lost."

"I'm not lost!" Nefertari huffed.

"Heh," Bakura chuckled to himself. "The little princess is lost and alone in the great big city."

"I'm not a princess!" Nefertari insisted, her tears streaming even more. "Just go away!"

Bakura circled Nefertari curiously, watching her like a predator waiting for a wounded animal to surrender. He watched as she began to sob even more, her head bowed again. For a moment he almost thought he was feeling bad for her, but he suddenly let out a laugh.

"You're such a cry-baby!" he mocked.

"N-No, I'm not!" Nefertari stuttered, but she was unable to stop herself from weeping.

"Yes, you are!" Bakura laughed.

"Stop making fun of me!" Nefertari cried, but her pleas only made Bakura cackle even more.

"Cry-baby!" he taunted.

"You horrible commoner!" Nefertari shouted through her sobs and sniffles. "You're too stupid and horrid to understand how I feel!"

"What, are you scared of some dumb old bandits like the guys who kidnapped you?" Bakura further mocked. "Are you crying because it's past your feeding time? Were you hoping to have a grand meal as music played for you and your princess friends?"

"You really are horrible!" Nefertari snapped at him, locking eyes with him.

"I know," Bakura grinned. Nefertari stopped replying to him, but her crying continued.

"It's not fair," she sobbed once again. "I'm going to be an orphan. My father is going to die! And now I'm stuck here with a horrible common boy!"

Bakura's laughing came to a halt as his eyes went wide, a smile no longer on his face. He stared down at Nefertari as she sobbed and muttered to herself.

"Your father..." he mumbled thoughtfully to himself.

"Oh, laugh at me some more!" Nefertari bellowed. "Go on! Keep laughing at me! It's not like you'd understand how I feel!"

Her cheek was suddenly stinging and her head had turned. A sound echoed within this small space: a slap. Bakura had slapped her across the face without even realising it, but once he saw what he had done, he let his shocked and thoughtful expression become a hateful frown.

"You're so stupid," he spat. "I bet all of you nobles are stupid."

"How... how dare you...!" Nefertari gasped, her crying having stopped due to the sudden shock.

"You think you have problems, huh, princess?" Bakura continued. "I bet you don't think about anyone else at all. Only yourself. You're selfish. You're selfish!"

"My father is dying!" Nefertari repeated.

"Will you still have a home?" Bakura interrogated. Nefertari paused.

"...Why is that even...?" She was immediately interrupted.

"Answer the question, princess."

"I... well..."

"Yeah," Bakura growled. "You're going to live in that big palace still, aren't you? You're still gonna get food and people are gonna look after you. But that doesn't matter, does it?" The boy grit his teeth together. "You nobles don't deserve to have such comforting lives."

Bakura was about to leave the house so that Nefertari's fate was left in the hands of her captors, but that's when she suddenly called out to him. "Wait!" she begged. "Don't... don't leave me here!" The young boy stopped walking but he chuckled lowly, clenching his fists.

"You need me to let you go, huh?" he assumed. "How funny. Why should I help you? Aren't I just a filthy commoner?"

"These guys might kill me!" Nefertari reminded him.

"Not my problem," Bakura replied with a shrug.

Nefertari had to think for a few seconds, trying to come up with a way to convince this boy to help let her go. Only one thing came to mind, but it was something she was not happy about doing.

"I..." she stuttered. "I... I'm sorry..." The apology made Bakura raise an eyebrow.

"For what?" he pushed. He wanted to hear a true apology - not because he would forgive her, but because he wanted to see one of the nobles beg. They were always so quick to judge the lower people, yet they would do anything to gain help from them.

Nefertari mumbled for a moment, her eyes facing the floor. "For... For calling you a filthy commoner..." she murmured. Bakura grinned proudly.

"Louder," he demanded.

"I'm sorry for calling you a filthy commoner!" Nefertari repeated tearfully. "Please, just let me go! I wanna go home!"

Once again, Bakura felt some kind of inner rage. It wasn't fair that this brat still had her home when she didn't even deserve it. She got to live in a nice palace, while he had to live in a small hut in a dangerous part of the city.

Still, despite his jealousy, there was still a shadow which was left behind by the sweet and innocent Bakura. His good attitude had been fading fast ever since what happened in Kul Elna, but for now he still felt some kind of sympathy even for the nobles. He had never actually met a noble before, and while Nefertari definitely was a brat she still had her own problems. She had said that her father was dying, and that she was going to be an orphan. Noble or not, becoming an orphan was painful - Bakura should know.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Bakura plopped down onto his knees and started to untie Nefertari, laughing quietly to himself. "You're so weak," he insulted.

"I-I'm not!" Nefertari huffed.

"Are," Bakura mocked, now having freed the girl. "So, you wanna go back to your princess palace?"

"Stop calling me a princess already!" Nefertari commanded. "I'm not a-"

"Shh," Bakura hushed, putting a finger to her lips. "You wanna get back to the palace, huh? Then you've gotta get back without those bandits seeing you."

"The guards will protect me," Nefertari insisted as she stood up, folding her arms.

"Feh!" Bakura snorted. "Hate to break it to ya, princess, but the guards can't protect you from everything in the city. They don't even know you're here. So I suggest you just follow me, unless you want more bandits to kidnap you."

Nefertari frowned at the smirking boy, but again she knew she had to give in to him, much to her dismay. The blue-haired girl let out a sigh, scratching her head awkwardly. "Lead the way..." she grumbled. Bakura grinned, grabbing her hard by the wrist.

"This way, princess," he announced, dragging her out of the building.

"I'm not a princess!" Nefertari reminded him, but she could already feel herself growing tired of repeating herself. She followed Bakura against her will, being dragged back through the alley and into the busy crowd, and the palace didn't seem so far away. But, unfortunately, fate happened to be against the pair as they bumped straight into the two bandits who had originally kidnapped Nefertari.

"Hey!" one yelled. "You little brat!"

"Uh-oh," Bakura gulped, letting go of her wrist. "Sorry, princess, but you're on your own!" The white-haired boy let go of her wrist and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Nefertari all alone.

"Hey, wait!" she called out to him, only to see that the bandits were quickly approaching her. She had no time to think, so she ran as fast as she could through the forest of people once again, keeping her eye out for any signs of Bakura. She was quick to spot him climbing the side of a small house just beyond the busy market street, and that's exactly where she decided to go. If he could climb that house, then so could she... right?

Nefertari attempted to climb, but it was difficult. She simply ran her hands down the wall without actually attempting to do anything, but as she looked back she saw the bandits running closer and closer. That was when her sudden survival instincts settled in, and her dark hands felt for any features in the wall which she could grab onto. Upon finding her grip, she then began to clumsily scale the small wall, clambering up onto the rooftop where she stopped to catch her breath.

Bakura had already jumped from this rooftop down onto the roof of an even smaller building, but he looked back up to see Nefertari catching her breath. The boy tilted his head, surprised that a noble girl was able to climb like that, but he became so distracted that he didn't even notice some stall owners pointing him out.

"That's the boy who stole from me before!" yelled the man who owned the bread stall. Bakura's eyes widened and he gulped, realising that now he had to flee some adults. Unlike Nefertari, however, he found it easy to escape such men, so he jumped down behind the building he had been standing on and began to sprint down some small alleys.

Without even intending to follow Bakura this time, Nefertari also made her way down and began to run through the narrow streets. Up ahead she saw Bakura and frowned. "You!" she panted, trying to catch up to him. Bakura heard her but made no attempt to slow down, turning every corner in an attempt to lose her, but once he was back in the streets he ran straight into the bread stall owner - the man knew exactly where the small alleys ended.

"Gotcha," the stall owner grinned, grabbing Bakura by his arm. "You little thief... I'll have your hand as payment for what you stole!"

"No way!" Bakura snapped, trying to pull away as the stall owner dragged him through the busy streets.

It was at that point when Nefertari ran back out, and she saw the scene in front of her. That white-haired boy was being dragged off by a stall owner, and she could overhear him talking about cutting off Bakura's hand. For a moment she considered leaving him, but how could she? He may have fled the scene when the bandits came after them, but he did still help free her. It was only right that she returned the favour.

"Wait!" she called out, running up to the stall owner and tugging on the back of his robe, catching his attention. Bakura stared at her with an odd gaze before settling with a glare.

"What do you want, girl?" the stall owner asked her, not sounding at all amused.

"I am Nefertari!" Nefertari proclaimed loudly. "I am the daughter of... of High Priest Masudah! This boy... saved me from real bandits! If you cut off his hand, I'll tell... I'll tell my father to cut off your head!"

The stall owner stared at Nefertari with wide eyes, then down at Bakura before gritting his teeth, pushing the white-haired boy into the girl. "Fine," he growled. "But if he steals from my stall again, he needs to be punished!" With that said, the man returned to his stall after leaving through the crowd.

Bakura glared at Nefertari, his face red with embarrassment. "Why did you do that?" he grumbled. "I could've slipped away."

"Liar," Nefertari huffed. "Is that how you thank me?"

"You never thanked me," Bakura pointed out, folding his arms. "I saved you even after you called me a filthy commoner."

"I said I was sorry," Nefertari excused.

"Whatever," Bakura muttered as he started walking down the street.

"H-Hey...!" Nefertari called, following the boy. "M-Maybe we can start again...? I-I'm-"

"Nefertari, the High Priest's daughter," Bakura interrupted. "Heard ya the first time princess."

"Well... Well who are you...?" Nefertari questioned, ignoring the princess comment. Bakura stopped walking and turned to face her, sarcastically extending his hand for a handshake.

"I'm Bakura, the filthy commoner," he answered, his smirk quickly becoming a frown as he continued to walk.

"I said I was sorry about that!" Nefertari whined, dragging her feet through the sand to follow the boy.

"Don't you have a palace to go back to?" Bakura questioned her.

"...Yes," Nefertari answered slowly. "But... I've never been out in the city before..."

"I thought so," Bakura grinned to himself. "You're pretty dumb." Nefertari was about to argue with him again, but he turned to look back at her, his grin almost friendly now - almost. "But you're still from the palace. I wanna know what it's like there."

To many, Bakura's demand may have sounded like a typical naive comment made by a curious child, but really he had much darker intentions even for a child of nine years. He wanted to know what he could steal - and with Nefertari being a daughter of a High Priest, he might be able to get his hands on the treasure he truly desired:

The Millennium Items.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	6. VI

**~VI~**

 _The Royal Palace_

Mahad was pacing with worry as Haku watched him with sad eyes. Both boys feared for Nefertari's safety; she hadn't returned, and neither had the guard who went to fetch her.

"What if she's run into trouble?" Mahad asked out loud, mainly to himself. "What if she's in danger right now and the guards can't find her?"

"Do you really think she got into danger that quickly?" Haku queried. "The guard ran straight after her..."

"It's easy for the adults to lose us in crowds," Mahad pointed out, still pacing back and forth. "I bet Neffy panicked when she got out there - you know what she's like, Haku, she really doesn't like the city. She'd have been frightened to death seeing all of those people, and she probably got herself lost!"

"I hope she's okay..." Haku murmured. "I don't want her to get hurt out there..."

"If the guards return and they still haven't found her, then I'm going to look for her myself," Mahad decided. "I won't let anyone hurt her!"

 _..._

 _The Capital_

Bakura led Nefertari down a street, wandering away from the busy crowds in the market place.

"Okay," Nefertari murmured. "What do you want to know about the palace?"

"I wanna know what it's like," Bakura answered simply. "You live inside it, princess. I only get to see it from the outside, and I can never get very close."

"It's... big," Nefertari tried to describe. "It has a lot of rooms, and the gardens are beautiful."

While even Bakura was somewhat fascinated by the palace's description, he had his mind on other things. "What else?" he pressed. "Is it well-protected?"

"Of course it is!" Nefertari huffed. "The palace is where all the nobles and royal family members live! It has to be protected!"

"I bet it would be easy to get past the guards," Bakura sniggered with a grin. Nefertari scowled at him, shoving him in an attempt to be intimidating.

"I'd like to see you try!" she snapped at him.

"I'll try when I'm ready," Bakura responded. Nefertari maintained her glower.

"Coward," she insulted.

"Heh," was all Bakura said in response as he walked ahead of Nefertari. "Anyway, there's something else I wanna know." Nefertari narrowed her purple eyes.

"What?" she asked the white-haired boy. Bakura looked back at her, grinning with his almost-goofy partly-toothless grin.

"I want you to tell me about the Millennium Items," Bakura demanded. Nefertari clenched her fists and stopped walking, folding her arms.

"No," she refused, shaking her head. "Why should I tell you about the Millennium Items?"

"Because I already know quite a lot about them," Bakura explained.

"How?" Nefertari questioned.

"Not telling," Bakura smirked.

"Then I don't believe you," Nefertari concluded.

"Listen," Bakura began, stopping to lean against the wall of the nearest little hut. "You're new to the big world. You don't know anything about what happens outside of your little palace, while I see many different things every day." The boy flashed a grin at her, opening up his hand as he continued to explain himself. "I've known about those Millennium Items since I was little; I was there when they were made!"

Nefertari's eyes went wide. No way was Bakura telling the truth.

"Liar," she accused. "You can't have been there."

"Heh," Bakura snickered. "I can tell you how they were made, but first I want you to tell me what you know about them."

"I don't need to tell you anything," Nefertari huffed, only to gasp sharply when Bakura's other hand slammed beside her, thus allowing him to trap her between his body and the wall of the hut, his grin remaining on his face.

"It's not like I'm giving you much of a choice," the boy chuckled. Nefertari, having calmed down after the surprising movement, puffed out her cheeks and shoved him back.

"You don't need to know about them!" she snapped.

"Oh, but I do, princess," Bakura insisted. "You see, those items come from my home. That's where they were made. I want to take them back one day."

"That's stealing!" Nefertari inhaled in shock. "Just because they were made where you lived, it doesn't mean they are yours!" A dark look took over Bakura's face.

"They stole them from my village," he snarled like a wild dog, tilting his head to the side slowly. "Do you know what they were made from?"

"Gold," Nefertari answered, folding her arms almost proudly. "Let me guess; did you come from a labouring village, where the gold you mined was used for those items? I've seen a lot of angry miners in the Pharaoh's court."

Bakura's hateful expression remained for a few seconds before his head lowered, his fists clenching. He looked ready to yell or throw a punch, but his mood suddenly seemed to swing. The white-haired boy was chuckling ominously, at first quietly to himself before he bellowed a loud laughter.

"What's so funny?!" Nefertari demanded to know.

"Gold!" Bakura howled with laughter, having to hold his stomach while he continued his laughing fit. He pointed a mocking finger at the High Priest's daughter. "You think those powerful items are made from gold!"

"What else could they be made from?!" Nefertari defended, now embarrassed that she didn't even know the truth about the items she would one day have to control. "Gold is a very precious material!"

Finally, Bakura's laughter died down as his eyes met Nefertari's, and his partly-toothless grin remained on his face. "Silly princess," he insulted. "Don't you know what's more precious than gold?" He took a few steps closer, causing Nefertari to press her back against the hut's wall cautiously. The young boy stared at her for a few moments as if admiring her nearly-fearful reaction to his approach, then finally revealing what he knew to her. "Souls."

As Bakura stepped back to give Nefertari her space, she found herself widening her eyes. Souls? How could souls created solid items?

"Everyone in my village was killed and turned into gold," Bakura explained. "The gold's not giving those items power - the souls are. Those snoots stole that power from my village when I was smaller, and I'm gonna take it back!"

"This is all a lie!" Nefertari denied. "The power in those items is magic which only the nobles can control, including my father!"

"Your father will not have that power for much longer," Bakura coldly reminded, remembering what Nefertari told him before about her father dying. Nefertari froze, then slowly lifting her head to stare, horrified, at Bakura. However, her gaze quickly shifted to one of rage as she threw herself towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders; she had probably tried to push him to the floor, but she did not have the strength to do it.

"Then if you're telling the truth, your villagers are killing him!" she cried. "I heard the other priests saying he saw death and heard screaming! Is it your villagers he's seeing, then?! Are they killing him?!" Bakura simply pushed her back with ease.

"Those priests deserve it," he spat hatefully.

"How dare you!" Nefertari wailed tearfully. "You horrible, horrible boy!"

"I watched my parents die at the hands of your soldiers," Bakura stated, seriousness now his primary tone. "I watched their bodies melt in a pot of liquid gold. I was supposed to be in there with them. Perhaps that would be easier for your kind, princess - you wouldn't have to hear the truth from me if I was in your father's item."

Reality seemed to hit Nefertari. She did not want to believe Bakura's words, but how could she not? What purpose would he have for telling such a lie? If he was going to lie to get information out of her, then he would have chosen a story easy to believe. This entire story about a village and people turning into gold was... abnormal.

"Nefertari!" a voice called. Both Bakura and Nefertari turned their heads, with Nefertari perking up as she recognized the voice.

"Mahad...?" she whispered softly to herself. Bakura scowled as he watched the brown-haired boy turn a corner, stopping as he saw the pair together.

"Looks like a prince has come to save you," the white-haired child grinned, managing to regain his sense of twisted humour as he once again looked at Nefertari. "You'd better tell him I rescued you first." As the boy began walking away, further down the alley, he stopped for a brief moment and turned his head back to look at the blue-haired girl. "Well, princess, I'll see you again soon; you'd better have a good story to tell me about those items!"

With that said, Bakura sprinted out of sight.

Mahad, joined by Haku, ran to Nefertari's side, with Mahad glaring in the direction of the thieving young boy. "Hey!" he called out angrily, then turning with a worried expression to face Nefertari, grasping her by her dainty hands. "Did that boy hurt you?! I'll tell the guards to search for him if he did!" Nefertari only shook her head, visibly shaking. She wouldn't say a word.

"She's stressed," Haku muttered quietly to his male friend. "We should just help her get back to the palace..." Mahad nodded in agreement, still wearing a face of worry.

"Right..." the young spellcaster mumbled, putting his arm around Nefertari and holding her close. "Come, Haku, let us find one of the guards and inform him that Nefertari is safe." Haku stood beside the pair, and together they began leading Nefertari back towards the populated streets which were now flooded with guards searching for the young noble woman.

But neither of the boys knew what was going through Nefertari's mind.

 _..._

Elsewhere in the city, Bakura had safely returned to his own small home where the three Persians awaited him.

"Bakura!" Rashan gasped, standing up as the young boy entered the building. "You were gone for a while; we were worried you were in trouble!"

"He never gets in trouble," Darius reminded Rashan, standing up calmly as he placed his bowl of stew on the ground. He eyed Bakura curiously, raising a brow. "What did you get up to?" Bakura simply shrugged his shoulders, wearing a proud grin.

"I rescued a princess from some kinda bandit," he answered proudly.

"Princess?" Caspar queried, looking towards the other two men. "There's only a prince, ain't there?"

"The noble girl," Darius recalled. "I went outside earlier to see if you were nearby, and I overheard the guards talking. They said that one of the High Priest's daughters had gone missing."

"That was her," Bakura grinned. "Some guy kidnapped her, so I rescued her."

"I hope you didn't get spotted," Darius warned, "otherwise we may have unwelcome guests visiting this house soon."

"Don't worry, we were fine thanks to me," Bakura beamed, folding his arms. "I even got to learn a little bit about the palace and the Millennium Items."

"Interesting," Darius murmured. "What did she tell you?"

"Well, she told me that the palace was really big and well-guarded," Bakura explained, imagining the sight in his head before chuckling to himself, rubbing his hands together. "Then she talked a little bit about the items. She didn't even know how they were made, heh heh heh!" Darius could only frown.

"Be careful," he said to the boy. "You don't want to tell people too much; the story of the items is a secret, and if those posh palace boys learn that someone knows the secret then they will have you killed."

"Feh," Bakura shrugged. "I'm not scared of those priests. One day I'll use those items against them, and I'll be stronger because the items will know who I am!"

"Is that really how they work?" Rashan asked, tilting his head curiously as he looked to Darius. "Are those items alive?"

"I'm not sure," Darius admitted, "but I doubt it." The man sat back down, picking up his bowl of stew again. "Grab a bowl, Bakura, before the stew goes cold."

Bakura sat down with his three guardians, hungrily devouring the stew with some even dribbling down his face. Today had been a long day.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	7. VII

**~VII~**

 _The Royal Palace_

Masudah was gone, consumed by the power of the Millennium Ring. It had fed off his soul, slowly draining him of his energy until he was nothing but a weak shell of a man. Not only that, but the images burned into his brain by the ring had been too much for his mind to handle. A man like Masudah could not control such a powerful item, but his fellow priests feared that no man would be strong enough.

"That ring killed him," Kamuzu said to fellow High Priest Akhenaden. "He spent his last moments talking about a world-ending sight as people were slaughtered, whether they were men, women or children. That ring has something inside it that no other item has. I fear that young Nefertari will not have the strength to control such an object."

"Then keep training her," was all Akhenaden could say in response. "She has been learning the ways of a spellcaster from a very young age. If she continues with her training then she will be strong enough to control the ring."

"What if nobody can control it?" Kamuzu suddenly asked, earning a shocked silence from his associate. "Masudah was powerful, Akhenaden. His soul was trained to withstand the burden of the Millennium Ring's power. If he cannot control it, then who will?"

"Nefertari," Akhenaden insisted. "She will be strong enough. Soon."

"And now?" Kamuzu pressed. "We no longer have six High Priests, and Nefertari is still only a child. She cannot wield the item just yet."

"Then we wait," Akhenaden finalised. "Nefertari is our only hope. She must be the one who wields that item, and then her children must be able to do the same." He looked Kamuzu in the eye seriously. "You must make sure she becomes a strong spellcaster, or else Egypt is doomed." Kamuzu simply nodded his head, although he hid his certainty.

"I will," he assured quietly.

…

 _The Palace Courtyard_

Nefertari sat alone, but not out of sight of Mahad and Haku. The two boys looked at each other, not sure whether they should approach her or just stay away.

"She's not said anything for a long time," Haku pointed out. "I'm really worried about her."

"She must be in shock," Mahad guessed.

"What do you think happened to her while she was missing?" Haku asked him.

"I don't know," Mahad replied. "All I know is that I saw her with a boy. He looked a little bit… rough."

"Do you think he hurt her?" Haku pressed.

"It didn't look like he was trying to hurt her," Mahad recalled. "Maybe he said something to her…"

"We should just talk to her," Haku decided. "We need to know what happened."

"I'll talk to her," Mahad stated. "Maybe that boy didn't upset her. She might be thinking about her father…"

"Oh, yeah…" Haku remembered, bowing his head sadly. "I… forgot that Masudah…"

"Don't say it," Mahad interrupted. "I don't think she wants to hear that right now." The young spellcaster nodded to Haku once. "Go inside, Haku. I can talk to Nefertari by myself." Haku nodded back to him, showing that he was agreeing to do as he was told.

"Make sure she's okay," he last said before running back into the palace. With Haku now gone, Mahad let out a deep breath and approached Nefertari, seeing that the blue-haired girl barely even reacted to his presence at all.

"Neffy," he began softly, then sitting beside his friend. "Everyone is worried about you. We can't help you if you don't say what's wrong."

Nefertari didn't say anything, hugging her knees close to her chest. What could she say? She could not repeat the information she had learned about the Millennium Items. She still wasn't sure if what Bakura said was true, but she knew that questioning the topic would get the same answer either way: if his words were true, then the High Priests would deny that the tragedy happened, and if they were false, the High Priests would still deny that the tragedy happened. There was no need for her to say anything about what Bakura had said to her, because it wouldn't lead her anywhere.

Mahad sighed softly, closing his eyes and looking to the side. "I don't know how to help you," he admitted. "You haven't spoken to anybody since we found you in the city with that boy. You didn't even say anything when we told you about your father…"

His words only made Nefertari grimace and curl up into herself even more, but she didn't seem like she wanted to talk. Mahad noticed this and immediately regretted bringing up both incidents, but something had to be said. Were both issues bothering her, or only one? Was one incident worse than the other? He was never going to know, because she was refusing to talk.

"Neffy…" he sighed again. "I… just want to help you. You're my friend. Wouldn't you want to help me or Haku if we were upset?"

"You can't help me," were the words Nefertari finally spoke, her voice monotone and quiet. Her voice actually made Mahad's eyes widen with surprise, but then his expression softened again as Nefertari continued to speak. "If I had hurt myself, then you could help me. If I was scared of something, then you could help me. …I just want to be left alone, Mahad."

Mahad stared at her, and then slowly nodded his head. "…I'm sorry," he apologized, then standing up. Nefertari grabbed his hand before he left, but still didn't face it.

"…Don't be sorry for something that's not your fault," she mumbled before releasing her grip. Mahad kept his eyes on her for a few more seconds before silently nodding his head and leaving her to be by herself.

Nefertari glanced back at him, and then glanced back towards the courtyard walls. Out there was an entirely different world that she had barely seen for herself. A world where she may be able to find the truth. Perhaps she had to find Bakura again, or maybe she just needed to explore.

All she knew was that beyond that wall was the truth.

…

 _The Capital City_

Behind that wall was the truth.

Bakura sat upon the roof of a building, staring towards the distant palace. That's where the Millennium Items were, and Nefertari – the girl who knew a lot about them.

Climbing up onto the roof, joining the white-haired child, was Rashan. Bakura looked back at him to make sure that it wasn't an approaching threat before turning his attention back to the royal palace.

"You've been up here for a while," Rashan pointed out. "Anything on your mind, kid?"

"Nothing much," Bakura shrugged, with his purple eyes still locked onto the large structure. Rashan noticed this and chose to sit next to the boy.

"Thinking about that girl?" he guessed. Bakura frowned and folded his arms, turning his back to face Rashan.

"No," he snorted.

"Aw, little Bakura's got a crush!" Rashan teased playfully, ruffling his hair. Bakura bat his hand away.

"Hey!" he snapped. "I don't even like her. I'm actually thinking about the Millennium Items. She knows so much about them…"

Rashan's playfulness seemed to fade. "You're thinking about those items again?" he asked. "Bakura…"

"Don't try telling me to stop thinking about them," Bakura grumbled. "I want those items. I want to get revenge!"

"A pipsqueak like you?" Rashan queried.

"I'll get those items when I'm bigger," Bakura planned, determined. "Maybe if I see that girl again, I'll learn even more about the items!"

Rashan let out a heavy sigh. "You're never gonna let it go, are you?" he questioned, seeing the burning anger behind Bakura's eyes. "You've hated the royals for years. And, well… heh heh, it kinda makes sense to want revenge, doesn't it? You are the last survivor of a massacre, after all. That ain't something you'll forget with age."

Bakura's fists clenched tightly, but he managed to calm himself, and his eyes became suddenly sad. "Hey, Rashan?" he spoke softly. Rashan tilted his head.

"Yes, kiddo?" the older male responded.

"Have any of you guys been through something tough?"

Rashan's expression slowly shifted into a solemn stare, but then he made himself smile lightly. "Life's tough," he answered. "We've all seen bad things. People like us can't get away bad experiences."

"Worse than mine?" Bakura pushed, almost sounding hopeful. Rashan chuckled and just ruffled his hair, which seemed to irritate the child.

"No such thing as having a worse experience than someone else," he explained. "Bad experiences are unique. They're never worse than someone else's."

"So, if someone like that girl said that she was upset about her evil dad dying, is that okay?" Bakura queried, recalling that Nefertari was very emotional about what was happening to her father.

"Of course," Rashan responded. "Her father's dying. Her father will be dead, and she will be sad, because she must have loved her father, right?"

"I guess…" Bakura grumbled, glaring daggers at the palace in the distance.

"You lost your father, too," Rashan reminded him.

"Not in the same way!" Bakura snapped, standing up suddenly as he bared his teeth at his guardian. "My dad was killed by the men who worked for the people in that palace! He was turned into gold – the gold around her dad's neck! I've been through worse!"

"You're a little young to understand," Rashan sighed, also choosing to stand up. "When you're older, you'll see what I mean." The man started heading towards the edge of the building so that he could climb off, but he paused. "It's gonna get dark soon. You should probably come in before any of the night criminals get ya." And with that, he made his way back to the natural ground.

Bakura's frown remained on his face as he once again glared at the palace, his nails digging into his palms. Those items were going to be his when he grew up. His story would become legend, for sure. He would be known as Bakura, the Last Man of Kul Elna (or something else cooler, he couldn't think of anything right now), and he would take down the corrupt royal family. He would avenge his village.

And the way to do that was to use Nefertari.

…

 _The Royal Palace_

Night had now fallen, and Mahad was heading to bed. The death of Masudah had still unsettled him and many others in the palace, but none had been affected more than Nefertari. It was her own father, after all, and now she was alone. Orphaned.

Mahad covered his mouth as he yawned, walking with half-lidded eyes, ready for sleep, but fast footsteps echoed behind him.

"Mahad!" Haku called out, obviously trying to remain somewhat quiet. Mahad felt too tired to be dealing with this but knew that he couldn't just ignore Haku, so he turned to face him.

"Haku, what's the matter?" he exhaled tiredly, rubbing one of his eyes with his fist.

"Nefertari's not in her chamber," Haku explained. "Have you seen her since you saw her in the courtyard?"

No. He hadn't.

Mahad seemed a little more awake now. "No," he admitted. "I thought that she would've come inside…"

"I've asked everyone in the palace," Haku revealed. "Nobody has seen her."

Mahad's eyes went as wide as they could in their tired state. "You don't suppose she ran away again, do you?" he questioned. Haku's eyebrows furrowed and he swallowed hard.

"Where else could she be…?" he questioned quietly. Mahad's expression barely changed.

"We need to tell the High Priests," he planned. "The Pharaoh must know, too."

"Right," Haku nodded. "I'll tell them."

"And tell them that I'm looking for them," Mahad added. Haku gasped.

"But, Mahad, this is something we should leave to the adults!" he argued. "It's dark outside and there are criminals about! It's more dangerous than it was in the day!"

"Neffy is out there," Mahad reminded him. "I'm gonna look for her, Haku, and I'm gonna protect her from any danger. We can both use our magic to protect ourselves, and if we don't make it back, then the High Priests will be able to find us in time."

"Mahad…" Haku wavered.

"I won't rest tonight knowing that Neffy is out there on her own," Mahad finalized. "Go and tell the High Priests, Haku, and stay safe behind these walls."

Mahad sprinted down the halls as Haku called out to him one last time, but he didn't slow down. He had to find Nefertari before the darkness of the night revealed itself in the forms of bandits and spirit monsters.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	8. VIII

**~VIII~**

It was dark, but she did not care. The streets were not so crowded, and the dangerous folk were swarming inns and backstreets. She had walked through the city and had headed for a bare area near the Nile, where she sat doing something that no child her age would normally do.

She was attempting to summon her Ka.

It was something only the High Priests and the Pharaoh should do, but, being a spellcaster, Nefertari had a wand. Wands, much like the Millennium Items, were magical objects. Not as powerful, of course, and useless to those who were not born as spellcasters (with the exception of few who trained hard since childhood despite their non-spellcaster status), but the wand was still very capable of summoning the Ka.

The girl with light blue hair exhaled as she held her wand tightly, holding it by her side as her eyes closed for a moment. She had to find her Ka inside her. She had to feel everything it felt. She had to know it and understand it.

Nefertari's eyes closed as she slowly lifted her wand, trying to focus on the darkness she now saw. Somewhere she would find her Ka. It was in here somewhere.

A hiss could be heard, like that of a snake. Nefertari's eyes snapped open and she jumped, worried that perhaps an asp had slithered towards her, but the hissing stopped and she saw no snake. That drew her to the conclusion that the hissing came from within her, and that it must have belonged to her Ka.

Once more, Nefertari closed her eyes. The hissing could be heard again, echoing through her head. It almost frightened her, and she could feel herself becoming nauseous. She was shaking ever so slightly. What if she could not control her Ka? What if it got the better of her and attacked her?

Well, that was why she had come out here and didn't just stay in the courtyard of the palace. At least here she could run or let damage be done without it being too serious.

A pair of yellow eyes stared at her in the darkness. Reptilian, yellow eyes. Her eyes closed tighter, for a moment forgetting that they were not open at all in the first place, but the girl calmed herself.

From the darkness slithered a snake. It was dark with red stripes, and sharp razor-like fins down its back. It came closer and closer, until its eyes aligned with her own, and her lids opened up to see the creature there before her. It was a small beast, but she didn't care. She was a child; she was just impressed that she was able to summon something, and it was interesting to see what kind of creature resided within her soul. A snake was more pleasant than something horrific.

Nefertari crouched down and hesitantly reached her hand out towards the hissing reptile, with a small, not-so-confident smile on her face. "Hello," she greeted quietly. "So… you must be my Ka."

As she had expected, the snake did not respond with words. But it did stop hissing at her, and instead it flicked its tongue in some strange way of greeting. Nefertari giggled a little and tickled it under its chin, no longer afraid of the reflection her soul created.

"You're not as scary as I thought you'd be," Nefertari continued thoughtfully, still wearing her smile as her head tilted to the side. "I wonder if you'll grow any bigger…"

Just then, she heard a distant yet somehow familiar voice – it didn't sound too different to an angry child grumbling to himself in a bad mood. Nefertari arose to her full height and turned her head, and further down the sandy bank of the river, she spotted the white-haired boy who had helped her before. Bakura. That was his name. She almost felt a smile trying to form as she hurried over to him, which resulted in him jumping into a defensive position to protect himself. Upon seeing that this was the same girl he had met before, he let down his guard.

"Nefertari," he recalled. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" It was an attempt at a joke, but it sounded like a serious and concerned comment. He never expected to see Nefertari so soon. But, before he could even give Nefertari the chance to answer, his eyes went down to the strange snake which had followed her. "Whoa! That's not like any snake I've ever seen! Stand back!"

"Don't worry," Nefertari soothed. "It's… mine." The response only made Bakura look more confused.

"Eh?" he reacted. "That weird snake thing is yours? How?" His eyes then went wide. "Is it a spirit creature?"

"Kinda," Nefertari answered. "It's my Ka. It's a creature that reflects my soul." Bakura couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Heh, your spirit's a little snake," he snickered. Nefertari folded her arms.

"Oh, yeah? Well, what's yours?" she asked him. Bakura shrugged.

"I dunno," he replied. "I guess I can only find out with one of these." He held up a wand, much to Nefertari's confusion, until the blue-haired girl noticed that the wand in her hand was missing. The smug grin on Bakura's face told her everything she needed to know, and in response to his theft she puffed out her cheeks with frustration.

"Give that back," she demanded, holding out her hand. "You can't do magic. You're not a spellcaster."

"Aw, so I can't see my own Ka?" Bakura pouted, examining the wand until Nefertari snatched it from him. "That's a real shame, princess. I bet it's better than yours, anyway." The boy knelt down and admired Nefertari's striped snake, and he showed no fear of it at all as he even reached out to pet it.

"They get stronger," Nefertari then pointed out. "When I get bigger, I bet my Ka will be something amazing."

"Didn't you say it reflects your soul or something?" Bakura queried, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh-huh," Nefertari nodded proudly.

"Then yours will never be amazing," Bakura smirked.

"Hey!" Nefertari snapped as Bakura stood up. "Well, yours probably isn't going to be good, either! My mentor taught me that Ka are sometimes really bad in horrible people, and right now you're being a horrible person!"

"He didn't say they were weak, then?" Bakura added, leaving Nefertari somewhat speechless. He had a point, and she knew that. "I think he meant to say that people who aren't good have strong Ka."

"But evil," Nefertari reminded him. Bakura shrugged.

"Good, evil… strength is strength, princess."

Nefertari shook her head. "Why are you here?" she then questioned him. "It's late for you, too. And you sounded pretty grumpy before I came over here."

Bakura scratched his head awkwardly with a grin. "I'm not grumpy," he said to her. "Besides, I don't have a bedtime like you do. I go to bed whenever I want."

"That's just unhealthy," Nefertari murmured.

"Anyway, princess, why are _you_ here?" Bakura shot back at her. "You went back safely to the palace with your rich friends. What made you run out this time?"

Nefertari could only look down sadly before sitting on the ground by the river, with her Ka slithering to curl up beside her. "I don't wanna talk about it," she said quietly.

"Your dad died, huh?" Bakura assumed, which caused Nefertari to flinched and then throw some sand at him.

"Don't talk about it!" she commanded.

"At least you already saw it coming," Bakura pointed out. "I didn't know my dad was gonna be killed and turned into gold for your fancy priests to wear."

There it was. The gold thing. Nefertari still wasn't going to believe it.

"My father is dead," she growled tearfully, with her snake now hissing beside her. "Can you really only talk about that stupid gold story?!"

"Yeah," Bakura answered simply. More sand was thrown at him.

"Why did I bother coming over here?!" she shouted. "You're still so rude!"

"Whatever," Bakura shrugged, finally passing Nefertari's wand back to her. "Kinda hard to be nice when ya have to steal to live, princess. If I'm nice to people, they won't treat me any differently because I'm a street rat." He hopped down into a sitting position by the Nile and stared at his own reflection. "I bet all the royals teach you to be nice because they don't wanna look bad. People care more if you guys are bad." The young boy grinned to himself. "Heh. At least nobody really cares about what I do."

"Yeah, well, when you're a grown up, you can't be bad," Nefertari countered as she folded her arms firmly. "You'll be arrested by the city guards, and you'll never be trusted by anyone."

"So?" Bakura responded quickly, looking up at her. "I don't need people to trust me if I'm gonna be on my own. And even if I am a bad grown-up, there'll be other bad guys to hang out with." He thought about Darius, Caspar and Rashan – his three Persian mentors – and then thought back to the village of Kul Elna. Everyone there was a thief, or closely associated with one. Everyone in that village admired his father, and that was something that he chose to mention under his breath. "I'm gonna grow up to be like my dad."

Nefertari looked at him oddly and almost felt the urge to speak up in anger, but then calmed herself as she tilted her head thoughtfully. He had lost his father, just like she had done, but his recollection of the event sounded much more brutal than a simple death in bed. The young priestess sat herself down beside the boy, with her spirit snake now dormant.

"Tell me about your dad," she said quietly, staring at her own reflection in the river water. Bakura narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

"Why?" he asked. "So you can make fun of me to feel better about your own dad dying?"

"No," Nefertari answered, shaking her head. "I want to know about him. I want to know why you want to be like him."

Bakura simply shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone wants to be like their dad," he commented. "Don't you wanna be a High Priestess like your dad, princess?"

"I'm not a princess," Nefertari shut down, still not liking the nickname, but his words did stick in her head. He did in fact have a valid point; she did want to be like her father and be as great as he was, and Mahad also wanted to be like his father. The young Atem also seemed to admire Aknamkanon, so it was definitely a noticeable trend.

But Nefertari was starting to feel something… weird. Something strange as she thought about her father.

Doubt.

She was doubting herself.

Was she doubting whether or not she could fill his shoes?

…No. Not at all.

She was doubting if she wanted to be like him at all.

"…The Millennium Items," the aqua-haired girl spoke up after a small silence. "You keep telling me they were made from… people. Your people."

"They were," Bakura answered, his expression now darker and serious. "I watched them drop them into the pot of liquid gold. I watched them shape the items and I ran away. They would've turned me into gold, too."

"Maybe they wouldn't have…" Nefertari doubted. "Maybe they only turned the criminals into items… the grown-ups…"

"Ha ha, you're funny," Bakura snickered. "No, princess. They killed the grown-up ladies like my mother. They killed my friends. Nobody was left when I woke up the next day. The whole village was a ghost town."

This was the most he had ever really talked to anyone about what had happened, and there was a good reason for that: Nefertari, once convinced by his story, would have to inspect the items for herself, and maybe even bring them to him. She might even betray the royal family. Nefertari, the trainee spellcaster who was already capable of summoning her Ka. Nefertari, the future holder of one of the Millennium Items and future High Priestess. She would be a powerful ally. It really would be better to keep her on his side.

"…I'm sorry," Nefertari said after a quiet sigh – a sigh that was both saddened and somewhat stubborn. "I… I don't understand why that would be allowed… I thought my family and friends would want to help people, not hurt them…"

"Oh, they help people," Bakura agreed, "but they hurt others to do that. And because they're rich and powerful, they can get away with it. If people like my guardians do anything wrong, they get killed, but your royals get praised."

Nefertari had nothing to say to that. Perhaps it really was true. Perhaps this little thief boy, despite his rudeness, was telling the truth her family would never tell her.

But maybe something else would also tell her…

The young girl stood up. "I need to go," she announced. "My friends will be worried about me. I think your guardians will be worried about you, too."

"Nah, they don't care if I'm out late," Bakura assured her, waving his hand passively, but he then arose to his feet and held his hand out with a wide grin on his dark face. "How about I walk ya home, princess? It's dark now, and your little snake probably won't do much against big scary night guys."

Nefertari stared at him, awkwardly taking his hand. She hadn't really thought about what to do to get home, and she did now understand that the streets were dangerous – night time would definitely be much worse than the day.

Bakura started dragging her, his grip tighter than it should be, as he wound his way through small alleys to avoid crowds of drunks and other rough-looking men. But, only half-way to the palace, a single well-dressed child could be seen awkwardly yet frantically searching the main street. Bakura didn't seem to care much for him, but Nefertari recognised him just by his robes.

"Mahad!" she whispered to Bakura. "That's Mahad! My friend!"

"Oh," Bakura tutted, rolling his eyes before smirking. "Should we sneak past him and leave him to get lost in the dark?"

"No!" Nefertari whispered again in a hiss, slapping Bakura's arm a few times. He didn't even react to the pathetic attack and simply laughed.

"Fine, I'll take ya to your prince boyfriend," he taunted, dragging Nefertari out of the alleyway.

"He's just my friend!" Nefertari growled.

Mahad spotted the duo once he noticed the two were approaching him, and his eyes went wide. "Neffy!" he called out somewhat quietly, hurrying over as fast as he could.

"Neffy?" Bakura chuckled to himself. "He calls you Neffy?"

Nefertari just shot a glare at him, but then smiled when Mahad approached and even managed to pull her dainty hand from Bakura's tight grasp.

"Mahad," the young girl greeted with a smile. "I'm so happy to see you…"

Mahad immediately hugged her tightly. "I was worried about you!" he told her. "Haku was also worried… We didn't know what you were going to do, or… or…"

"I'm fine, Mahad, I promise…" Nefertari soothed. "I just… I… I was really confused and… I wanted to be alone, I don't know…"

"You've gotta stop scaring us like this," Mahad said with concern. "One day you might get hurt…"

"I'm sorry," Nefertari apologized. She turned her head, prepared to say her farewells to Bakura so that she could return to the palace with Mahad, but she saw that he was gone. "…Huh…"

"Oh, that boy…" Mahad recalled. "He was with you a moment ago… Who is he?"

Nefertari was silent for a moment as she tried to spot Bakura, but after seeing no sign of him, she decided to smile once more. "He's a friend," she answered. Mahad only looked concerned.

"I suppose he did help you," the young spellcaster commented, holding Nefertari's hand. "Come on, Neffy. Let's just go home before the High Priests send out a search party."

"Right," Nefertari agreed with a nod, and the pair returned home.

But Nefertari would not be settled in her room for long, as she could not sleep. Something was on her mind.

The Millennium Ring.

That item was going to be hers, which meant she had every right to touch it if she pleased. It was destined to her. She would wield it as she grew older.

Maybe, if the Millennium Items truly were magic, she could see something within the ring. The truth, perhaps, or something that could be useful to her.

The adults were asleep, as were Mahad and Haku, so once more she silently made her way through the palace and towards…

Her father's room.

He was no longer there, which Nefertari confirmed as she wandered hesitantly into the chamber, but the item was. It was right by his bedside, where he had always kept it in the past if it wasn't around his neck.

The golden glow of the Millennium Ring reflected in Nefertari's purple eyes as she approached, slowly extending her hands forwards as she reached out for it.

Her dark hands found the item…

She grabbed it.

It was not as simple as she thought it would be, or as painless. Immediately her hands started to burn, almost as if the Millennium Ring had become molten metal, but she couldn't let go. Her eyes went up in flames, as did her throat, and she couldn't even find the energy to scream.

In her state of painful blindness, Nefertari was beginning to see something. She could see a village of people running for their lives as they were massacred, and their dying screams and cries could be heard.

Was this Kul Elna, the village Bakura claimed to come from?

She saw a man with messy white hair trying to hold off some soldiers – Egyptian soldiers – while his wife and strangely familiar child ran.

Bakura.

The child was Bakura, so the man she could see must have been his father.

The images were flashing, and her body began to heat up more and more, as if she were being melted in the pot of liquid gold which appeared in her quick hallucinations.

But before the pain could become to unbearable, something pulled her away from the Millennium Ring, though she completely blacked out before she had any time to react.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	9. IX

**~IX~**

 _The Persian's Home_

Rashan and Caspar were asleep, and the house was dark. Bakura climbed in through the ground-level window and tried to silently wander through the home, but he bumped into something – someone. Darius was standing there with his arms folded, staring down at the young boy with a disappointed expression which somehow made the darkness of night feel… darker.

"Out again, I see," the man spoke. "Rashan said you were getting worked up about those items again."

Bakura could only frown. "Yeah, I was," he confidently confirmed. "So what?" Darius' expression became colder as he narrowed his eyes.

"You'd better not be doing anything stupid when we've not got our eyes on you," the long-haired man warned. "You could put yourself in danger."

"I don't care if I get myself into trouble," Bakura responded.

"Well, I do!" Darius snapped suddenly. He hadn't sounded this angry before, so Bakura was naturally surprised at this, though Darius was quick to return to his quieter tone of voice. "Bakura. If you get into trouble, _we_ get into trouble."

"I won't get you guys involved…"

"It's not about that!" Darius once again snapped loudly as he interrupted the white-haired boy. "I don't think you understand your position in this house, Bakura. If you get into trouble, we're going to get you _out_ of trouble."

Bakura only scoffed at these words, his eyes staring at the ground beneath his feet as he clenched his fists. "You're not my dad," he growled. "None of you are my dad. And you will _never_ be my dad!"

Silence.

Long, painful, tense silence.

Darius moved, and the moment he did, Bakura could feel himself swelling with regret. The older male grabbed him tightly by his arm and pulled him up the stairs, while Bakura protested angrily, until Darius dragged him onto the house's roof.

"Look around you," he commanded, taking the back of Bakura's head and forcing him to look at the world beneath him. The streets were still bustling with men, who were no doubt drunk, and some women who were just enjoying Egypt's night life. But among the rowdy crowds were very few children, and any which were seen were not with the adults. They looked skinny and filthy. They wore rags. Some tugged on the robes of the adults, desperately seeking help, only to be shoved away so vilely.

"You could be one of those kids," Darius stated as Bakura watched the scenes before him. "In fact, you could have been doing worse than them. We took you away from that village and chose to look after you. We weren't cannibals looking to eat you. We weren't slave traders looking for someone to sell, or a personal servant. We were just men passing by, and we could have easily ignored you or killed you to put you out of your misery. But we took you with us, Bakura." The long-haired man released his grip on Bakura's head, but the boy continued to stare down below. "So, we may not be your parents," Darius continued, "but we've done a better job raising you than they did, because they died, and we're still living on to make sure you don't end up like the kids down there."

Darius then made his leave, heading back into the house, while Bakura just watched the other kids who bundled together in an attempt to keep warm for the night. He could be like them, or he could even be dead. Perhaps he should be a little more grateful for being alive and well, but at the same time, he felt like he had a purpose to fulfil. He had to avenge his village, though it may have been better for him to wait until he was a little older before he tried anything serious.

…

 _The Royal Palace_

Nefertari gasped sharply as she sat herself up. The last thing she remembered was that agonizing sensation coursing through her body. Was that all a dream? Did the Millennium Ring really show her the village of Kul Elna being destroyed by the Pharaoh's guards, just as Bakura had told her? Or was that all just some realistic nightmare?

She didn't know how long she sat there for, trying to understand what her recent memories were, but eventually, High Priest Akhenaden came into the room.

"You were sleeping for the whole night," the elder man told her. "The young boys were worried that you may have been comatose."

"I don't know what happened…" Nefertari admitted immediately. "I just… blacked out."

"After holding the Millennium Ring," Akhenaden added firmly, narrowing his eyes. "Why were you doing that?"

Nefertari was going to give an instant response about how she wanted to see the truth about everything she had been told, but something stopped her. A gut feeling. Her purple eyes lifted and stared at Akhenaden's frown before she then delivered her careful reply.

"It was my father's item," she reminded him. "I'm supposed to inherit it one day, when I become a High Priestess."

"You are far from ready to wield an item of such grievous power," Akhenaden explained, "but you know what already."

"It's better to prepare myself, isn't it?" Nefertari asked him. "The more I expose myself to it, the more my body will grow immune to its effects." Akhenaden shook his head.

"That is not how the Millennium Ring works," he clarified. "The Ring is unique. It contains a certain evil that cannot be explained or even understood. It is not something that one can just grow immune to by exposure; your body and soul need to be completely ready before handling it. You could have died if I hadn't separated you from it last night." Nefertari looked down silently, before Akhenaden spoke again. "Did you see anything?"

Nefertari's eyes widened, but Akhenaden didn't notice her expression as it changed. He did, however, take note of her hesitation to respond.

"I… didn't see anything," Nefertari answered after a lengthy pause, still refusing to look back at Akhenaden.

"At all?" Akhenaden pushed while taking a few steps forward. "The Ring didn't invade your mind in any way? You saw no images of evil?"

Oh, she did. She saw many images of evil. But a nagging voice in her head told her that she couldn't just answer so honestly. If Akhenaden was suspicious about the Ring showing her certain things, then he knew something about the item which she did not, and that something could very well be related to Bakura's village and the slaughter.

"I saw nothing," the girl insisted, finally lifting her head to stare at the High Priest. "All I saw was black, and all I felt was that burning pain the moment I grabbed the item."

Akhenaden returned the stare, still with narrowed eyes, before he eventually nodded his head. "Very well," he responded. "You should stay and rest for a while longer; I'll tell the boys you're awake."

"No," Nefertari replied, pushing herself out of her bed. "I want to go and see them myself."

"You should really stay and rest, young priestess," Akhenaden insisted.

"I want to see my friends," Nefertari argued. "I want to go and see Mahad and Haku."

Again, Akhenaden looked somewhat wary and suspicious of her, but he relented. "Very well," he sighed. "They are in the throne room." Nefertari nodded her head and simply walked out of the room, passing the older male without giving him another glance.

Upon arriving in the throne room, both Mahad and Haku caught sight of her and wore faces of surprise and relief.

"Nefertari!" Haku chirped, running over to her first with a bright smile on his face. Mahad was slower to react, but a very genuine smile crossed his lips as he stood himself up and walked over.

"You're awake," he noticed. "We were worried about you, Neffy."

"I'm alright," Nefertari assured them both.

"You had apparently grabbed the Millennium Ring," Mahad recalled, tilting his head. "That could have killed you, or at the very least, it could have corrupted your soul."

"High Priest Akhenaden pulled me away from it before anything serious happened," Nefertari smiled. "I suppose I know not to carelessly touch that item now."

"It should have been obvious," Mahad pointed out. "My father has taught you about how dangerous that item can be. Even he seems afraid of it."

"I think all the priests are afraid of it," Nefertari countered. "And now I can see why. That's all that matters."

"You say that, but something tells me that you're hiding something from us," Mahad opposed.

"I agree with Mahad, Nefertari," Haku confessed. "You've been acting… strange. Distant."

Nefertari paused, and then shrugged her shoulders. "We're all growing up fast now," she excused. "I have to carry on the legacy my father left me, and High Priest Kamuzu is teaching me so much about magic and my inevitable responsibilities."

"We're just worried about you," Mahad told her. "We want to be here for you as your friends, Neffy. We want you to talk to us when you're sad, or when something is bothering you, but every time something happens, you grow distant and you do extreme things. You've left the palace twice in such a short space of time, and you now tried to wield the Millennium Ring in secret."

"I'm going through a lot," Nefertari admitted. "I just… don't think you two could understand."

"Well, help us understand," Haku begged. "We can't stand to see you suffer. We care about you. We don't want to lose you…"

Nefertari stared at them both for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "You're right," she surrendered. "I'm not myself, am I? And I am doing some really dumb things… But even if I told you about what's going on in my head, it wouldn't stop me from anything I think of doing. I already plan to leave the palace again today."

"Again?" Mahad asked. "But why, Neffy? Why do you keep leaving?"

"I promise, I will tell you both one day," Nefertari swore. "Everything is… complicated right now. But if the High Priests or the Pharaoh start trying to look for me, please, can you two distract them?"

"Why should we?" Mahad pushed. "We don't know what you're doing. We could get into some serious trouble."

"Not if you pretend to have no knowledge of me leaving," Nefertari added. "Just distract them, and if they find out I've left, then pretend I lied to you."

"No way!" Haku gasped. "We couldn't do that to you! You'd get in so much trouble!"

"I'm not asking you to do this, Haku, I'm _telling_ you," Nefertari stated. "I'm going to leave soon, and I should be back later today. I don't want you two to worry about me, but I do need your help with this."

Mahad let out a heavy sigh and then turned to Haku. "There is no stopping her," he said to him before turning to look at Nefertari. "But this isn't something we're gonna keep doing for you. I'm going to trust that whatever you're doing is important. If you get into trouble again… I don't know what Haku and I will do."

"Don't worry; I'll be okay," Nefertari assured him. "I know exactly where I'm going. I'm not gonna get lost or get myself in any danger."

"Very well, then," Mahad nodded. "Haku, let's go and see little Atem. If anyone asks us where Neffy is, we'll say she's resting in her room."

"Right," Haku agreed apprehensively. His eyes then went to Nefertari. "Please, take care of yourself." Nefertari simply smiled at him.

"I'll be just fine," she reassured. The aqua-haired girl then waved and quietly ran out of sight, with the two boys watching her until she had disappeared.

"Are you sure she's going to be alright?" Haku asked Mahad with saddened eyes. Mahad folded his arms.

"No," he admitted, "but she hasn't got into much trouble out there yet. She knows her way around the city almost like the grown-ups do." The young spellcaster then put his hands together while closing his eyes. "I've been practising my enchantments. If I focus hard enough, I should be able to put a protective spell on her."

…

 _The Capital City_

Once Nefertari had reached the busy streets, she kept her eyes peeled for the white-haired boy. He wouldn't be hard to spot, even in a crowd; he was much shorter than everyone else, and his hair colour was unusual enough.

The girl walked, and eventually she caught sight of Bakura walking among the people, but he was quite a distance away. She tried to call his name, but he wasn't close enough to hear, so the best she could do was run to catch up with him. This task itself was difficult, for Nefertari had to keep her eyes on him and follow him down each turn he took, all the while pushing her way past various kinds of people. Surprisingly, she wasn't actually getting a lot of attention. Nobody seemed to notice her at all.

She finally went down a quiet backstreet, where she saw Bakura jump through a small window and into a small house. That must have been his home.

In this moment, Nefertari had completely forgotten about what Bakura's living situation was like. In fact, she was silently asking herself if it had even been brought up. The only thing she could recall was that he claimed to have lost his parents in an attack.

Maybe he was lying about that.

Perhaps Bakura did live a normal life, and was telling lies to sound exciting.

Well, there was only one way for her to really see for herself, and that was to go and pay a visit.

The young girl hesitantly stepped closer, dragging her feet along the sandy cobblestone, until she stood right outside. A part of her wanted to look through the same window Bakura had jumped through, but she had been taught manners which she intended to uphold. It was much more polite to just knock on the wooden door, which is exactly what she did.

She stood for what felt like a while, but really it was only a few brief moments. The one to answer the door was a man with his black hair tied back in a ponytail. Caspar.

Caspar stared down at her with his black irises, and was silent. In fact, he was completely confused.

"Uh… Can I help you?" her asked awkwardly.

Nefertari was quiet as she stared up at the man before her, but she didn't take long to gain the confidence to speak.

"I'm here to speak to Bakura," she stated. Caspar seemed surprised.

"Bakura?" he repeated. "Small kid? White hair? Angry?"

"Yes," Nefertari answered with a nod. "I want to speak to Bakura."

"Who's this?" asked a man with shorter black hair who joined Caspar at the door. Rashan. Nefertari could see that he was holding a small dagger in his hand, which he was trying to keep hidden, and that only made her nervous. But she had to remain calm, and somehow, remaining calm was easy for her right now.

"Apparently this girl knows Bakura," Caspar told Rashan, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't know he had much of a social life."

"Why do you two keep saying my name?" Bakura queried from behind, but when he looked between the two, he saw the girl he had become so familiar with and widened his eyes not long before he flashed a smug grin and folded his arms. "You just can't keep away from me, can you, princess?" he asked her. Nefertari pouted.

"Stop calling me that," she grumbled.

"Princess?" Rashan echoed. "Hold on. Bakura, is this girl the one from the palace?"

"Yep," Bakura nodded with a smirk. Rashan couldn't hide his expression of concern.

"A palace girl being here is dangerous," he said. "The guards will be looking for you."

"They won't be," Nefertari assured before returning her gaze to Bakura. "Bakura, come out here. I wanna talk to you about things that are really important."

Bakura raised a brow, and then shrugged as he walked between Caspar and Rashan. "Alright, I'm coming to be your bodyguard," he responded nonchalantly. Nefertari puffed out her cheeks and stormed after him as he strolled.

"I don't need a bodyguard," she growled at him.

"You totally do," Bakura countered arrogantly. "So, then, why'd ya wanna talk to me so badly?"

"It's… hard to explain," Nefertari admitted. "Who are those men in your house?"

"My guardians, I guess," Bakura answered as comfortably as he could. "The ones you saw are Rashan and Caspar. Darius wasn't there; he's in charge of all of us."

"I see…" Nefertari murmured thoughtfully. None of them were his actual parents. "Are they… relatives of yours at all?"

"No," Bakura shot back immediately. His expression looked dark, just like it had looked in the times before where he talked about his family. "They found me in my old village. They saved me. They could have left me there to die, but they took me with them."

"Oh…" Nefertari reacted. Bakura turned his head to glare at her while they both walked.

"Is that all you wanted to pester me about?" he interrogated. "Who I was living with?"

"N-No!" Nefertari answered quickly, shaking her head. "No, it's something much more important."

"If it's so important, then why aren't ya talking to your palace friends or the priests?" Bakura scoffed.

"Because it's something I know only you'd get," Nefertari confessed before lowering her vocal volume. "It's about the Millennium Items."

There was an interested glint in Bakura's dark eyes, but then the look vanished. "I'm not interested in the items right now," he replied.

"What?" Nefertari questioned.

"I said I'm not interested in the items," Bakura repeated. "I don't wanna get my guardians in trouble, otherwise…"

"…Otherwise what?" Nefertari pressed. Bakura stopped walking and pointed out into the main street.

"Otherwise I could become like them," he answered.

Nefertari followed the direction his finger was pointing in, only to then see some children fighting over a small piece of bread. Nefertari stared with surprised and sympathetic eyes, while Bakura already seemed numb to the sight.

"I don't want to be like them," Bakura whispered under his breath. "I want to grow stronger, but I have to be patient. So, for now, I don't care about the items."

After a few more seconds of staring at the squabbling street children, Nefertari turned to look at Bakura again. "Whether you're interested or not doesn't matter to me," she told him. "You have to listen to me."

"Why?" Bakura pressed, trying to remain uninterested.

"Because I saw your father."

Silence.

Bakura's eyes were large, and suddenly he raised his hand to backhand Nefertari across the face. The sound echoed down the small alley passage which connected their street to the main one.

"Don't lie to me," he snarled fiercely. "I won't hesitate to hurt you just because you're a girl."

Nefertari held her darkening cheek, in shock, but she forced herself to face Bakura again despite the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm not lying," she insisted.

"You don't know what my dad looks like," the boy snapped.

"No, I don't," Nefertari admitted. "But in the vision, he was with you. I'm sure of it."

Bakura scoffed angrily. "Vision," he spat. "All this about some stupid dream you had? Give me a break."

"It wasn't a dream!" Nefertari exclaimed. "I was curious about the Millennium Items, so I managed to grab the Millennium Ring – my father's item. It started to burn me somehow, but while that was happening, I saw a village under attack. People were screaming and dying. Blood was everywhere. The Pharaoh's guards were…"

Bakura slapped his hand onto her mouth to silence her. "…That's enough," he whispered coldly, with his eyes facing the ground. He slowly pulled his hand away from her, only to then clench his fists tightly as he stood trembling. He could see it all in his mind: the death, the torture and the corruption. It was still so vivid in his mind. Perhaps Nefertari really did see what happened to the village of Kul Elna, but he still wasn't convinced. After all, she might have just been having nightmares about the things he had already told her. "…My father," he then said. "If you really think you saw my dad, then tell me what he looked like."

Nefertari stared, and then rubbed her chin as she tried to remember the man she had identified as Bakura's father. "He had white hair," she recalled. "It was kinda messy like yours, but maybe a bit shorter. His face had scars on it, like he'd been in fights before. His skin was dark. I couldn't see what colour his eyes were, though, but I did see him wearing some beige robe. He was fighting the soldiers to keep them away from you and… I think it must have been your mother."

With each little detail, Bakura felt himself tremble more and more. His father's face was gradually fading from his memory. His white hair was impossible to forget, but Bakura had indeed almost forgotten about the scars. Now, he could clearly remember the x-shaped scar on his father's right cheek, and the small scar which almost served as its reflection on the other. It almost made him bitter towards Nefertari, knowing that she had seen his father and had a better image of him in her mind than he did.

He could feel tears trying to escape his ducts, so he turned swiftly so that his back faced Nefertari. "So what?" he growled. "What do you want me to do now, then? Walk into the palace and look at the item myself so that I can see what I saw four years ago?"

"No," Nefertari responded. "I'm more worried about what happened afterwards."

Bakura was able to bring himself under control and turned around to look at Nefertari again. "Afterwards?" he queried. Nefertari nodded.

"I blacked out," she told him. "I must've blacked out because of what the ring did to me, but one of the High Priests pulled me away from the ring before it could do more damage." The girl rubbed her arm nervously. "I woke up this morning, and High Priest Akhenaden, keeper of the Millennium Eye, seemed… strange. He really wanted to know about what the ring had done to me, or if I had seen anything unusual. It was like he expected some kind of big secret to have been shown to me – a secret he didn't want me to see. That secret… It must be the secret about what happened to your village."

Bakura's eyes were black with hatred. "I knew it," he hissed. "I told ya those priests were nothing but liars. And you believed them over me."

"I did," Nefertari confessed, "but the Millennium Ring showed me the truth. It showed me your village."

"And?" Bakura pushed. "Now what do you plan to do?"

Nefertari clenched her fists and wore a toughened glare. "I'm going to work hard," she announced. "When I'm older, and when I'm strong enough, I'm going to be the one to wield that item. I won't be like any other priest or priestess; I won't let the secret remain buried!"

Bakura stared at her oddly, before he gave her a widened grin. "I think I'm finally starting to get through to you, princess," he replied as he put his hands on his hips. "In fact, I think I like ya."

 **~End of Chapter~**


	10. X

**~X~**

 _The Royal Palace_

Mahad sat in the palace courtyard, now away from Haku, who was keeping the priests occupied. The sun was getting lower, and his worry for Nefertari's safety grew larger despite knowing that he had done his best to protect her with his own magic.

But, after what almost felt like forever, he spotted Nefertari climbing over the high walls. He sprinted instantly, just in case she fell and he needed to catch her. Nefertari never did strike him as someone who would climb, and if she ever did, he didn't imagine her to be very successful at it. Yet somehow, Nefertari hopped down from the wall and landed just fine, prompting Mahad to let out a sigh of relief. His protective spell must have been stronger than he though.

"You were gone for a long time, Neffy," the tall boy told her as Nefertari met his eyes. She gave him a small smile.

"I was," she agreed, "but not too long. The sun hasn't even gone down yet, and I didn't get lost. Nobody bothered me, either." The girl then scratched her head. "Actually, nobody really noticed me at all. Not even the guards." Mahad smiled to himself, but shrugged his shoulders.

"You must have just had quite a lucky day," he responded. "Come on. Let's go inside. Haku has been trying to teach the little prince to write for quite a while. As much as it helps to distract the priests, it must be beginning to wear him down."

Nefertari nodded her head and took Mahad by the arm. "Let's go," she smiled. The pair walked together and made their way into the palace, where nobody greeted Nefertari with worried faces.

…

 _The Capital City_

Bakura sat alone down a small alley, away from the market street. He was eating a stolen apple hungrily, but he wasn't even thinking about his hunger. Instead, he was recapping everything he had been discussing with Nefertari.

Nefertari, the palace girl and heir to one of the Millennium Items, had completely shifted to be supportive of his cause. She had started to lose trust in the royal family and fully believed in Bakura's words, for she had witnessed the very destruction of Kul Elna in a vision.

While he knew he shouldn't be focusing on those items, he couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. Nefertari would be his ally. Perhaps in the future, she could get him into the palace using whatever authority she had. Or, since she was apparently a trainee spellcaster, she could use magic to get him inside. She could even fight beside him, if her magic was battle-worthy.

The image in his mind was glorious. He imagined himself running into the palace, riding upon a horse with a blade in his hand which he would use to cut down the guards who were too slow to react to his presence. Blood would spill on the palace floor, and the High Priests would fall in a similar way. All of those items would be his to take back, and he would return them to Kul Elna, where they belonged.

The thought of slaughtering the High Priests made him chuckle quietly to himself. He couldn't contain his wide grin. It was just so funny, to imagine everyone being so much weaker than him, and to picture just how ironic the scenario would be.

One item came to his mind. The one which Nefertari mentioned: the Millennium Ring. That was one he was sure to keep his eye out for. It gave Nefertari the vision of his father. That same item was one that was going to belong to Nefertari one day; she might be able to help him use it.

After finishing his apple, Bakura stood himself up and decided to wander the streets for a little longer that day. He didn't get himself into any trouble, so the day was just like any other for him.

In fact, the following days would continue to be so regular for both himself and for Nefertari. Bakura never saw Nefertari in the streets for a long time after their discussion about the Millennium Ring, although he did sometimes hear rumours. He heard people talking about how the two royal spellcaster children were getting stronger, and no doubt one of those children was Nefertari. But Bakura also heard that she was becoming "rebellious", though the details were generally vague and never viewed as serious. The common people simply shrugged off her apparent behaviour as an age problem which she would grow out of.

Still, things remained fairly relaxed for both Bakura and Nefertari, despite the fact they never saw each other. Not for another three years.

 **~End of Chapter~**


	11. XI

**~XI~**

 _ **3 years later…**_

 _The Capital City_

"What did you say, you white-haired freak?!" barked an angry Egyptian boy as he held Bakura by his ragged robe.

Bakura, now a twelve-year-old boy, frowned hatefully. "I said you're a low-life cretin," he shot back. The other boy through him to the ground and slammed his foot into his head, keeping him pressed there. Bakura growled and stared up at the other child with fire in his eyes, but he was struggling to stand himself up.

"And you think you're better than me, huh?!" the other boy snapped. "I have a real family! You're just some street rat orphan who's gonna die alone!"

Bakura grabbed the boy's ankle and pulled him down to the floor, bringing his fist as hard as he could into his face. "I don't need a family to protect me," he countered coldly. "I can fight my own battles."

The boy grabbed Bakura's floppy white hair and pulled as hard as he could, but as the pair squabbled, neither of them noticed as Rashan – now a man with few grey hairs – approached. Rashan pulled them apart, but his dark brown eyes locked onto the black-haired Egyptian boy.

"I'm getting a little tired of seeing you around here," he murmured. "Do me a favour and run along home before I do to you what I used to do to kids I fought with in my youth."

With a mild look of worry, the boy stood up and ran without saying anything else, leaving Rashan to turn his attention to Bakura. The white-haired boy was still on the floor, and he was refusing to look towards his Persian guardian. Rashan simply let out a sigh.

"Why do you keep getting into these fights?" he asked. "You're gonna get unwanted attention, you know."

"I'm not afraid of fighting," Bakura rasped viciously. "One day I will be doing more than fighting in the streets, Rashan."

"I get that you wanna get tougher," Rashan understood, "but you're gonna get us all in trouble if you make yourself too well-known."

"Hmph," Bakura huffed as he stood himself up while also dusting off the sand coating is rags. "If I get into trouble, it's my problem. Not yours. I can't rely on others, so stop trying to protect me." With that said, the white-haired boy stormed off into the busy market street and disappeared easily from view. Rashan only sighed and didn't even try to give chase, but as he stood there, Darius walked to his side, having witnessed the minor conflict.

"He's a growing boy," the long-haired man noted. "He wants his independence. I'd say we taught him well."

"I can't lie, Darius," Rashan said. His sentence followed with a sigh. "If I must be honest, I do worry about him."

"Worrying about him is our job," Darius pointed out, "but he'll be ready to live his own life in the near future."

"That's the problem," Rashan responded. "When he's on his own, he's going to do something stupid."

"Of course, he will," Darius nodded. "He's Bakura. We've been looking after him for seven years." His dark green eyes seemed to soften slightly. "All we can hope for is that when he does something foolish, it ends in his favour." The aging man then started to walk back in the direction he had come from. "We should return home and leave Bakura to himself for a while; Caspar should be back shortly with more food."

Rashan nodded, but let out a small sigh just before following his friend. Over the years, he had admittedly grown even softer because of Bakura being in the life of him and the other two Persians. His age also wasn't helping, since the trio had all aged quite a bit since they first arrived in Egypt, although he didn't really see anything to be concerned about overall. Not for themselves, at least. The main concern was Bakura – the young boy who wanted to do extreme things.

As the two men left the streets, Bakura had continued to wander, but he noticed people standing aside for something. When seeing some guards walking in line, he immediately frowned, for he knew that this was some royal or High Priest, but when the young boy caught sight of a head of long blue hair, he decided to stop strolling and fixed his eyes onto the small royal unit.

Nefertari, the orphaned High Priestess and spellcaster trainee, walked with an expression of firmness. She looked hardened, compared to three years ago when she only ever worse expressions of either sadness, anger or pure naivety. She strode boldly in a long white gown with golden trimmings, and her tanned arm linked tightly with Mahad's. Mahad hadn't changed too much, aside from having grown a little taller.

Leading the two spellcaster children was Kamuzu, the aging holder of the Millennium Rod, along with Akhenaden, the holder of the Millennium Eye. Nobody seemed too disturbed by the royal presence, though some commoners did stop to see what was going on.

"You know, you look really pretty in white," Mahad whispered shyly. It looked as if he was just trying to get some kind of smile out of Nefertari, or at least take away the hardness in her expression. His compliment didn't work.

"We're not supposed to be talking," she muttered back to him, maintaining her focus on the trek. Mahad sighed and didn't say another word.

The troop headed through the streets and towards the sandy banks of the Nile river, and that's where they finally came to a halt. Bakura curiously followed, although he deliberately kept his distance and remained out of sight. The other civilians didn't seem as intrigued with the situation, since the High Priests often came through the city's streets, although the two spellcaster children definitely became a sudden topic of discussion among the people.

Kamuzu turned to face the young duo, and he held out two golden disks of some kind. They looked identical to the ones traditionally warn by the High Priests, but Bakura was yet to understand what these items actually did. They must have been more than just uniform.

"Nefertari, daughter of the late High Priest Masudah and the late Amunet, you have trained hard to control your mind, body and your spirit," Kamuzu began. "Within you resides the very embodiment of your spirit – your Ka – and with this DiaDhank, you will be able to call it to your side. Not only will you be able to summon your Ka, but you will also be able to summon the beasts trapped within your sacred sanctuary."

The young girl took the disk – the DiaDhank – and clipped it around her wrist, examining it thoughtfully as Kamuzu then turned to his son.

"Mahad," he started, "son of my own, you have proven yourself to be a strong spellcaster. You are not only ready to call forth your Ka, but you are also ready to control multiple monsters. This will be an important skill to have in the future – these beasts will be used to protect the Pharaoh and the kingdom when you become High Priests."

Mahad placed the DiaDhank on his wrist and examined it with awe, much like how Nefertari had done, but both children looked back at Kamuzu when he began speaking again.

"The two of you will first attempt to call forth your Ka," the High Priest explained. "Once you have successfully done that, you will attempt to summon a second beast, and then finally a third. If we get that far, then you can be taught about Ba – your life energy which goes into your Ka."

"Do you want to go first, Neffy?" Mahad asked as he glanced at Nefertari.

"No," the girl answered sternly.

"Then I guess that means I must go first," Mahad concluded, taking a step closer to the Nile for some space. He held out his arm and closed his eyes, letting out a long breath as he spent a few seconds focusing on what to do. When his eyes reopened, he held up his arm and called out, "Illusion Magician! Come forth!"

Mahad's DiaDhank began to glow, and a beam shot out from it. This caught the attention of nearby civilians, and Bakura could only watch with some form of amazement. After a few moments, a purple humanoid beast dressed in strange mage-like clothing appeared by Mahad's side, looking ready for commands. Mahad stared at the magician with shock and wonder, and maybe even with a hint of fear.

Kamuzu chuckled slightly. "A magician," he commented. "How fitting that is for you."

Mahad turned to look at Nefertari almost excitably. "Look, Neffy, isn't it cool?" he asked his friend.

"I suppose," Nefertari admitted while staring at the Illusion Magician. "It… definitely suits you."

"Nefertari, now you must try," Kamuzu then instructed.

Nefertari confidently stepped forward, and Bakura watched from his distance while hiding the fact that he wanted to grin. He knew that she was already capable of summoning her Ka, with or without a DiaDhank. He watched as she, like Mahad had done, held out her arm and called forth the beast which resided within her, only something was… different.

"Vennominaga, come forth!" she had shouted. Bakura had expected to see that same snake from three years ago, but instead, a large, purple snake, with three eyes and a second head upon its tail, appeared.

"A venomous snake?" Mahad reacted. "I never thought a snake would be your Ka."

"Snakes are ever-changing creatures," Kamuzu informed. "Perhaps you will grow into an ever-changing young woman, Nefertari, or perhaps you have the power to bring change to the land."

"What about me?" Mahad questioned. "What does my Ka symbolise?"

"Your magic," answered Kamuzu. "You will no doubt grow into a powerful spellcaster, Mahad, since you are one of the few natural-born spellcasters left after the war. Your magic is something that will protect this kingdom."

Mahad smiled proudly, while Nefertari simply admired her own beast. Her purple eyes reflected nothing but surprise. This snake had definitely changed from when she was younger, and no doubt it would change again in the future.

"Anyway, it's time for you two to proceed with summoning a second beast," Kamuzu continued. "You won't know the names of the beasts in your sanctuaries, so I will simply tell you them now; Mahad, you will call forth a beast known as Shadow Ghoul, and Nefertari, you will summon Dark Necrofear."

"They both sound kinda… evil," Mahad responded somewhat nervously.

"That's because they come from the hearts of evil people," Kamuzu clarified. "If someone does bad, then a bad Ka forms inside them. It grows stronger and stronger, forcing the host to do bad things, and can only be stopped if us High Priests remove it from them. But once they've been removed and sealed away, they are safe to be used."

"I don't think using the Ka of other people is right," Nefertari admitted. "It just sounds… wrong."

"Nefertari, we do not have time for your disagreements," Akhenaden snapped from where he was standing. "Do as High Priest Kamuzu commands."

An irritated huff came from Nefertari, but she once again held out her wrist and did what she had done with her own beast, but instead she called out the name of Dark Necrofear. Appearing by her side was a dark figurine-like humanoid which glowed in a purple aura.

"That definitely looks evil," Mahad commented, staring up at Dark Necrofear with wide eyes.

"It shouldn't be mine," Nefertari murmured under her breath.

Kamuzu paid no attention to Nefertari's comment and turned to Mahad. "Now it's your turn," he stated. "Call forth Shadow Ghoul."

Mahad did the exact same small ritual as Nefertari, and a green beast with many red eyes materialised at his side. Now the two spellcaster children stood with two monsters beside them.

"Good," Kamuzu nodded. "Since you two both had no problems with those tasks, I think I can teach you about Ba. Look at you DiaDhanks; do you see the glowing eye there?"

"Yes," both children said in unison.

"That is your Ba," Kamuzu explained. "Ba is your life energy, and when you summon monsters, you must sacrifice some of it. If your monsters are destroyed, you lose even more, and if the bar becomes empty, then you will die."

"That sounds serious," Mahad gulped.

"It is," Kamuzu confirmed, "but situations where someone loses all of their life are rare. Now, then, we shall call it a day there; you two shouldn't risk attempting a duel when you're still so young."

"When will be ready to train for duels?" Mahad asked.

"In a few years," Kamuzu answered, taking back the DiaDhanks. "Let us return to the palace; you two definitely deserve a break after today."

The group began to make their way back through the streets, though Akhenaden seemed disturbed. He had sensed a growing evil in the crowd, but when he turned to look, the evil had gone.

Bakura had quickly made his way down a backstreet to avoid being seen, but Nefertari had caught sight of him. That white hair of his was still so distinctive, even after three years. Without putting much thought into her next choice, Nefertari slipped out of sight to follow the boy.

"Nefertari!" Akhenaden called after her.

"She'll be fine, Akhenaden," Kamuzu assured. "She's just looking for an alternate way back to the palace. She's been like this for some time now."

"That's not the point," Akhenaden replied sharply. "I sensed evil within the crowd, and when it vanished, Nefertari ran exactly where I had sensed it."

"How severe was the evil?" Kamuzu queried.

"It felt… small," Akhenaden admitted.

Mahad was the one to speak up. "She'll be alright," he told the adults. "She's tougher than she looks. I should know."

Kamuzu looked down at his son while walking, and trusted the look in his expression. "Very well," he sighed. "But if she's out for too long, then we'll have to search for her."

"She'll be back before the sun goes down," Mahad guaranteed. "Trust me."

Meanwhile, Bakura was now sitting upon a rooftop. He stared down at the palace group as they left, but raised a brow when seeing that Nefertari wasn't there. Before his thoughts could remain on the subject for too long, he heard someone climb up behind him. The boy jumped to his feet and raised his fists, only to widen his eyes upon seeing that Nefertari had come to join him.

"You," he reacted strangely. "Why are you up here?"

"Is that really how you say "hello" to me?" the girl countered.

"Yes," Bakura responded. "So, answer my question.

Nefertari didn't seem too surprised at Bakura's attitude, so simply walked over and took a seat beside him, speaking once he sat down, too. "I saw you in the crowd," she told him. "You must have watched the training we did."

"Yeah," Bakura confirmed. "You and that spellcaster friend of yours. Mahad, was it?"

"Yes."

"Stupid name."

Nefertari sighed and shook her head, only to then laugh quietly. "You haven't changed too much," she commented.

"Well, maybe I'm not an "ever-changing snake" like you apparently are," Bakura retorted easily.

"Knowing you, you're Ka is probably something really annoying," Nefertari mocked. Bakura just laughed at her attempt at an insult, but then his laugh faded.

"I noticed that your Ka changed," he pointed out. "When I last saw it, it was a little snake with stripes. Now it's bigger, and it has two heads."

"A Ka can evolve and change," Nefertari told him. "Mine must be changing more noticeably because… I think I'm changing."

"How so?" Bakura queried curiously. Nefertari looked nervous, hugging her knees close to her chest.

"I don't feel like I belong there," she confessed. "They don't… like me."

"And?" Bakura reacted, not too impressed with the confession.

"All I do is disagree with them about everything," Nefertari explained to the boy. "Everything they do bothers me. And now that I'm getting older, they want me to be a certain way. They want me to set an example for the common people, and they expect me to protect prince Atem when he becomes Pharaoh."

"So, you don't wanna do any of that, huh?" Bakura questioned.

"I don't want to be a part of them," Nefertari affirmed. "I want to make my own choices. They're making every decision for me and I hate it."

Bakura shrugged his shoulders. "You don't need to do whatever they tell you to," he told her. "When you're older, you can do whatever you want."

"I'll be a High Priestess by then," Nefertari reminded him. "It'll be a crime for me to betray the palace."

"Well, I don't know what to tell ya, princess," Bakura shrugged.

"Stop calling me that," Nefertari grumbled, but she let Bakura continue speaking.

"If you don't wanna be a High Priestess, then refuse when you're a little older. If that's a problem for them, then who cares? Leave the palace and start a new life somewhere, I dunno, just do something that'll stop you from complaining."

Nefertari was quiet, but then she started to laugh under her breath. It was a sad laugh, but also a warm one. "It's weird," she chuckled. "We're not really friends. We barely see each other at all, but I feel like I can talk to you more than I can talk to them."

"You probably like talking to me because you think nothing will happen," Bakura theorised. "You think that because I'm a common boy, nobody will even listen to me if I tried to spread rumours about you. And if I tried to hurt you for saying something I didn't like, then you think your guards would have me killed." Nefertari shook her head.

"I like talking to you because you don't try to be perfect," she corrected. "My only other real friends are Haku and Mahad. Haku is always trying so hard to make everyone around him happy, always keeping the peace, and Mahad wants to grow into the man everyone believes he'll become. They'd both be terrified of their images being ruined if I were to tell them the things on my mind, but you don't even care."

"Because I have nothing to do with that weird royal family," Bakura pointed out while waving a hand dismissively. "You can complain and cower about whatever you want, I just find it annoying more than anything."

"I figured," Nefertari sighed.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Well, there's no need to be all sad," he grunted. "I'm not your friend, so stop expecting me to be soft with you."

"You're right," Nefertari then said, standing up. "I shouldn't be complaining. I just… wanted to get that off my chest. Three years being surrounded by everyone in the palace hasn't been fun."

"Sounds like torture," Bakura scoffed sarcastically.

Nefertari smiled slightly. "It is torture," she joked, "but someday, things are going to change for me."

"Things will change for everyone here," Bakura replied, a dark glint in his eyes. His plans for taking the items may have been on hold, but it was still in his mind. Although, as he said those words, he felt a slight nervousness. Maybe it was because he was growing up, and therefore he was getting closer to being of an age where he could put his plan into action, or maybe it was because of Nefertari. Three years ago, he imagined her being his ally. He saw her as his ticket to the Millennium Items. Right now, she certainly seemed to be going down a traitorous path, but something just didn't feel right to him.

"Go home, princess," the boy then instructed. "I'm sure this ain't gonna be the last time we meet."

Nefertari glanced at him thoughtfully. "I wish we could hang out," she admitted. "Properly. Every time, I've had to run away in secret. If we could just meet each other like normal children, I think we'd be friends."

"Hmph," Bakura huffed. "Well, that's not how things are. Go on, now; I'd rather not have you come crying to me about how the priests punished you for going home late."

"Right," Nefertari responded. "I'll see you whenever, then." The blue-haired girl climbed down from the rooftop and onto the ground, and Bakura watched as she slipped through the streets swiftly. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself quietly; he hated to admit it, but he did like talking to her again. At least she was rebelling against the royal family while remaining as a high-ranking member, so no doubt in the future, she would choose his side over theirs.

The only problem would be if something happened before the two of them were old enough to take any action.

 **~End of Chapter~**


End file.
